Caruso and the art of singing, including Caruso's vocal exercises and his practical advice to students and teachers of singing

CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

IBSIC

ML 420.C33F95"'"'"""' """"'
^"mnmlmJI}f,,A.,9' s'nginaincluding

3 1924 022 205 318

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tlie Cornell University Library.

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Caruso and the Art of Singing

CARUSO

AND THE

ART OF SINGING

INCLUDING CARUSO'S VOCAL EXERCISES

AND HIS PRACTICAL ADVICE TO STUDENTS

AND TEACHERS OF SINGING

BY

SALVATORE FUCITO

{Ca/niso's Coach and Accompanist, 1915-19S1)
AND

BARNET J. BEYER

WITB TEN PORTRAITS AND FIVE CARICATURES

NEW YORK

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 19SS, by
FaEDEBicx A. Stokes Comfaitt

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

PREFACE

I PEEL that it was the greatest honor of my
life when, in 1915, my distinguished friend
Enrico Caruso called me to New York to be
his coach and accompanist. I had previously
served him in the same capacities during his
frequent visits to Berlin, where our closer
friendship began in the year of 1909. In
those days I always eagerly awaited Caruso's
arrival in Berlin, not only because it was an
inspiration and a musical education to work
with the great master of song, but also be-
cause his very presence diffused sunshine and
happiness. In fact, it is dijlficult for me to
say whom I loved more, Caruso the artist or
Caruso the man — both were so great.

During the years that I spent with Caruso
he often talked to me about his life, his
struggles, and his trivmiphs, as well as about
his art. He always spoke very modestly of
his phenomenal achievement, but he loved his
art and often discussed its vexing problems.

vi Preface

For he was much more than a magical voice:
he was consciously an artist, an artist whose
extraordinary vocal and dramatic powers were
in great measure the fruits of a thorough com-
prehension of his art. Whenever he wished
to produce an effect, he could contrive a means
to accomphsh it. He devised exercises —
which are included in the book — ^that reveal a
remarkable insight into what is required to
make the singing voice agile and flexible.
And the vowels he employed to blend and
color his tones demonstrate that even his tone
mastery was conditioned by his directing in-
telligence.

Two considerations have prompted me to
write this book on Enrico Caruso's art: first,
the desire to pay my tribute to the memory
of a friend and a great artist ; and, second, the
hope that I could pass on to all who are con-
cerned with the art of singing Caruso's
methods in breathing and producing tones, his
vocal exercises and his views on vocal tech-
nique, his ideals of singing as well as his prac-
tical advice to singers. I have dwelt on his
life only in so far as it was closely related to
his art, and I have essayed to set down some

Preface vii

of the recollections he was so fond of telling.
Whenever I have quoted Caruso, I have en-
deavored to recall as nearly as possible the
exact words he used. S. F.

CONTENTS

CHAPTEB FAQB

Preface v

I Caruso's Boyhood and Early Training 3

II Caruso's Upward Climb .... 25

III The Conquest op the Old World . . 39

IV The Conquest of the New World . . 51

V Caruso the Man 89

VI The Secret of Caruso's Great Breath-
ing Power 109

VII Tone Production 127

VIII How Caruso Practiced . . . .157

IX Caruso and the Foundation op Vocal

Technique 179

X Style and Repertory .... 205

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PORTRAITS

Enrico Caruso Frontispiece

FACIHO
PAOX

Rodolfo in "La Bohfeme" 44

Canio in "Pagliacci" 68

Rhadames in "Aida" 92

Don Jose in "Carmen" 110

Dick Johnson in "The Girl of the Golden West" 134

Caruso Studying with Maestro Fucito . . . 158

Samson in "Samson et Dalila" . . . .182

Eleazer in "La Juive" 190

A Bas-Relief of Caruso as Eleazer in "La Juive"

Modelled by Himself 206

CARICATURES

As Caruso Viewed Himself 96

Signer and Signora Fucito 100

Other Views of Himself 104

Caruso's BoyJiood and Early Training

CARUSO AND THE
ART OF SINGING

Chaptek I

CARUSO'S BOYHOOD AND EARLY
TRAINING

"Enkico Caeuso is dead. The enormous
displacement caused by this lamentable hap-
pening is not alone confined to the artistic
sphere but literally to the entire civilized world.
We doubt if there are more than a half dozen
public men on the globe to-day whose demise
would so stir the universal imagination as has
the passing of the incomparable tenor. ..."
So wrote the late James Gibbons Huneker,
and the entire press of the country, nay, of
the world, voiced the same feeling of grief and
veneration.

Caruso had won the hearts of thousands of
people in all walks of life. We know of no
death in the annals of song that roused so
much attention and shocked so many people

4 Caruso and the Art of Singing

as when Caruso breathed his last. In many
lands his heroic struggle to stay death was fol-
lowed with great anxiety, and when the news
was flashed the world over that Caruso had
finally succumbed, that he was no more, a wavq
of deep sorrow swept the myriads who loved
and admired him. There were two countries
where the great loss was perhaps felt more
than elsewhere: in Italy, his native land, to
which he remained loyal and where he was
worshipped; and in America, his adopted coun-
try, where he was loved as a native son.

The story of Enrico Caruso's life is that of
his art: the two are inseparable. The private
fortunes and the public career of one of the
greatest singers of all time, and the greatest
tenor of his day, are so closely interwoven that
to all intents and purposes they are one. His
life was song, and song was his life. And yet,
unlike many singers, Caruso was deeply inter-
ested in many provinces of art and culture
quite beyond the boundaries of music. He has
so often been misrepresented as an artist whose
intellectual attainment was completely over-
shadowed by a phenomenal voice, that one who
knew him as intimately as did the writer can-

Carttso's Boyhood and Early Training 5

not insist too strongly upon the variety and
breadth of his knowledge, his keen insight, his
great activity, his powers of observation and
of memory. A mere phenomenal voice could
not have held that unique place among singing
men. Any man who, with an art such as
Caruso's, can so intensely move musicians and
laymen alike is more than the fortunate pos-
sessor of a wonderful vocal instrument. Ca-
ruso's intelligence and personality played no
small part in the achievements of a career
crowned with the laurel of world-wide admira-
tion and reverence.

Enrico Caruso was born February 27, 1873,
in Naples, that city of blue skies and glowing
simhght which contests with Constantinople
the claim of occupying the most beautiful site
in Eiu*ope. Marcellino Caruso, his father, was
a skilled mechanic of an inventive turn of mind
who was employed in the Meuricoffre import-
ing establishment. He and his wife, Anna,
lived in the thickly populated working-class
quarter which surroimds the railroad station
where the tourist takes the train for Pompeii.
Little Enrico, one of a family of tliree children,
was a happy-go-lucky boy, full of sun and

6 Caruso and the Art of Singing

mischief. He took to the water ahnost as
soon as he was able to walk, and up to the age
of ten haunted the warehouse docks of Na-
ples, swimming for hours with other young-
sters of his own age and indulging in those
day-dreams of running away from home and
becoming a sailor which are common to all
children in a seaport city. When he reached
his tenth year, his father told him that he would
either have to learn a trade or go to school,
and Enrico accepted the latter alternative as
the lesser of two evils. But his school life was
a stormy one. The boy was imused to re-
straint, and it was quite natural that he should
play truant, and find his way back to the semi-
aquatic life of the waterfront which he loved
so well. Having learned the art of self-
defense in the strenuous school of the docks,
he was well able to take care of himself when
difficulties arose between his fellow-pupils and
himself, and he was often in trouble because
of his readiness to accept a challenge. He was
noisy and lively, and earned many a whipping
at home for neglecting his lessons and getting
into scrapes that grew out of his boyish mis-
chievousness.

Caruso's Boyhood and Early Training 7

Every youngster in Naples fancies himself a
singer; but even at this early age it was evi-
dent that Enrico had a voice out of the ordi-
nary. It attracted the attention of the head-
master of the school which he attended. Him-
self a musician, this teacher drilled Enrico pri-
vately and developed his fine boy contralto,
coaxing him to learn by gifts of candy and ex-
emptions from school work. He then pro-
ceeded to exploit the voice he had trained by
securing engagements for Enrico to sing at
fashionable weddings and concerts — and pock-
eting the proceeds of his appearances.

But Enrico's schooling was not destined to
be of long duration. By the time he was twelve
years old the boy had made school so unhap-
pily eventful for his teachers that he was sent
home in disgrace. His father, deciding that
further educational efforts would prove to be
love's labor lost, first gave him a severe thrash-
ing, and then entered him as a draftsman's
apprentice in the De Lucca Mechanical Labo-
ratories. Mechanical engineering is no pro-
fession for an artist, and Enrico did not take
to it. He did not rebel openly, since his
mother, to whom he was devotedly attached,

8 Caruso and the Art of Singing

wished him to learn something practical; but
he heartily disliked his work, and could interest
himself in but a single phase of it — ^mechanical
drawing. And even his mechanical drawing he
regarded purely as a stepping-stone to higher
artistic ambitions, for by now he had made up
his mind to become an artist. His love for
drawing and for caricature — ^he drew more
caricatures than designs — dates from this time.
When Enrico was fifteen years of age his
mother died; and now that her wishes, which
alone had induced him to continue at work he
loathed, no longer bound him, he declared that
he was through with mechanical engineering
forever.

His declaration of independence had results.
His father, strangely enough in the case of an
Italian, was entirely unmusical, and was fixed
in his resolve that his son should learn some
trade or profession of practical and utilitarian
value; he had no sympathy with what he re-
garded as Enrico's extravagant and hair-
brained ideas. He himself was a mechanic,
and as a mechanic he had done well. j^L^ his
son follow in the paternal footsteps. But this
was what Enrico was temperamentally unable

Caruso's Boyhood and Early Training 9

to do. When he told his father that he had
come to an unalterable decision to devote him-
self entirely to art and to music, the older
Caruso informed him in a rage that he could
take his choice of starving or becoming a me-
chanic ; and when the boy obstinately refused to
have anything more to do with engineering ija
any way, shape, or form, his father called him
a disgrace to the family and ordered him out
of the house.

Enrico did not hesitate to take his father at
his word. He was only fifteen, but he was
already filled with that optimistic courage,
which throughout his life deserted him only on
the rarest occasions, that courage which he so
strikingly displayed during his last illness in
New York. If he was to become a singer, the
sooner he began the better. Turning his back
on the home which had been denied him, he
became a scugnizzo, a Gavroche of the Nea-
politan streets, singing for a few soldi or for
the pure joy of song, wherever and whenever
opportunity offered. Known as "Arricheti-
ello," he was occasionally allowed to sing
gratuitously in one or two of the tiny theaters
near the old Piazza Castello, and then, after a

10 Car mo and the Art of Singing

time, regularly, for a small recompense, in a
sailors' cafe-concert near the Mole and the
ImmacolateUa Vecchia, the old port of the
days of the Bom-bon kings, in which at that
time the whole maritime life of the city was
concentrated. He also sang — for one lira,
twenty cents — at the long Tuesday services of
the Church of Sant' Anna alle Paludi. His
other assets, aside from his voice, were his xm-
conquerable optimism and his splendid phy-
sique, although the former did not always pre-
vent his going to bed'hungry. During this
early period of stress and struggle, the fifteen-
year-old boy who would be an artist was at
times forced to seek other, less congenial work,
merely to keep body and soul together. Thus,
on one occasion, he managed to obtain a posi-
tion as outrider in the stables of the Count of
Bari, a position which his size and weight for-
timately prevented his holding for any length
of time.

Yet he was gradually becoming known as
the best boy singer in the city of Naples. He
had made no more than a precarious living
singing. in the cafes and hostelries of the wa-
terfront. Now his increasing reputation se-

Caruso's Boyhood and Early Training 11

cured Mm more frequent and better paid
engagements in private houses and at church
festivals. His voice, too, assumed a wonderful
quality, and this merely led to his being more
than ever in demand.

Once, rumor has it, when he sang in one of
the Neapolitan churches, the then Prince of
Wales, later King Edward VII, happened to
be present, and was so impressed with his
voice and his singing that he had conveyed to
him an offer to go to England on liberal terms,
an offer of which Enrico did not take advan-
tage. For about two years the boy managed to
sing his way through life in this manner, and
had progressed from what was literally a hand-
to-mouth existence to a position of relative
comfort, with money flowing in plentifully
when — ^his voice broke!

No matter what its beauty or quality, the
boy voice is but a fleeting possession. Nature
has fixed its term within limits which vary but
little, and it is not until the vocal transition
which marks the change to puberty has taken
place, that the singing voice develops under
new conditions. Enrico had given hardly a
thought to the evanescent character of that

12 Caruso and the Art of Singing

clear and crystalline boy voice which had made
him a favorite in a small way. Suddenly he
was deprived of it. When he attempted to
sing he could produce only the shrill, rough,
whistling sounds which feature the transition
period.

It is no wonder that the optimistic young
boy, who at last had really begun to believe
himself justified in choosing music for a ca-
reer, even though he had been turned out of
doors for so doing, was dumbfounded. The
breaking of his voice seemed to him a veritable
catastrophe, one beyond repair. Here he
was, the idol of the frequenters of the Caffe
del Molo — where the Piedigrotta songs came
into being — and accounted the best singer in
the churches of his home city, and quite sud-
denly he found himself voiceless. The abrupt
interruption of all his activities made him
feel almost that his voice had left him for-
ever and fear that now his hopes and ambi-
tions would never be realized.

It was his second great sorrow. He shut
himself up in despair, and would see none of
his many friends. But a youth of Enrico's
happy disposition could not despair forever.

Caruso's Boyhood and Early Training 13

It was in the summer, and one day he was
tempted from his retirement by some com-
rades who wanted him to go swimming with
them. He forgot his voice and joined them,
and on their way to the water, he even sang,
sang and croaked as well as he could, and for
the moment thought no more of it, one way
or another.

On his way home, however, he chanced to
enter into conversation with Edoardo Mis-
siano, a young fellow who was a good amateur
baritone and the son of a wealthy family of
Naples. Missiano, who had heard Enrico sing
at the Bagni del Risorgimento, told him that
he had a genuine tenor voice, and offered to
take him to his lodgings and try it out. En-
rico, whose unhappiness over what had seemed
to be the loss of his vocal powers had djiven
him to contemplate suicide, now felt the re-
surgence of all those doubts and despairs
which for a short time he had escaped. He
tried to evade Missiano's offer, but the latter
insisted so vigorously that Enrico had, per-
force, to accompany him to his rooms.

Missiano at once seated himself at the piano
and struck a chord. "Sing!" he cried to

14 Caruso and the Art of Singing

Caruso. Despairingly the youth attempted a
note, but the sound he produced was so shrill
and feeble that he said, ahnost in tears, "I
can't do it! It has gone!" Missiano, how-
ever, persevered, and having made Caruso
sing the scale, up and down, a few times, con-
vinced himself that not only did the boy have
a voice, but that his voice was one of imusual
quality.

In his joy at his discovery he leaped from
the piano-stool and lifted the despairing singer
high in the air. "You fool, you idiot!" he
cried. Enrico, thinking that Missiano was
mocking him, felt his despair turn to rage.
He took up a heavy brass candlestick stand-
ing near him, and hurled it at the young
baritone with all his strength. "You are
mad ..." called the latter, as the missile
crashed into a large mirror and wrecked it.
"You are mad to think that your voice is
gone! It is wonderful, and if you cultivate
it you will be the first tenor of the century."

If Caruso's self-confidence and his belief
in his voice had not been restored at this junc-
ture, would he have abandoned his plans for
an operatic career? It is possible, and yet it

Cariiso's Boyhood and Early Traimng 15

hardly seems probable. It is to Missiano, at
any rate, that the discovery of Caruso's voice
in the first instance is really due. Like ISTa-
poleon, the tenor was not one to forget those
who had been kind to him before he came into
his heritage of fame. In 1906, when Caruso
visited Naples, he learned that Missiano, whose
family had once been so well-to-do, had fallen
upon evil days and was suffering actual pov-
erty, and his influence was successfully exerted
to secure a place for the baritone at the Metro-
politan, where he was entrusted with minor
parts.

Missiano lost no time in bringing Enrico
to Guglielmo Vergine, a celebrated Italian
vocal master, famed as the teacher of Antonio
Scotti, of the tenor Bai, surnamed "the little
Caruso," of Ameha Karola, Bai's wife — ^these
two for a time rivaled the two Terrazzinis —
of Pandolfini, Bellincioni, Buss, and other
noted lyric artists who had had the benefit of
his subtle disciphnary methods, based on the
best traditions of the old Italian masters.

Vergine, however, did not seem particularly
impressed with Caruso's voice at a first hear-
ing. "It is like the gold at the bottom of the

16 Caruso and the Art of Singing

Tiber," he said, "hardly worth drawing out."
Missiano was not discouraged; he made Ver-
gine promise to hear his protege again, after
an interval of five days, and then employed
the intervening time in showing Caruso his
worst defects and assiduously coaching him in
certain arias which seemed calculated to show
his voice to the best advantage, in so far as its
quality and character were concerned, for it
was evident that concerning interpretation
and nuance he had much to learn.

When Enrico returned to Vergine he sang
the "Siciliana" from Mascagni's "Cavalleria
Rusticana," then at the height of its popu-
larity, and the aria from Bizet's "I Pescatori
di Perle" for the famous teacher, who, though
still anything but enthusiastic regarding the
tenor's future prospects, declared himself will-
ing to accept him as a pupil and to do what
he could to make an opera singer out of him.

Did a teacher of such reputation, whose
pupils almost invariably made names for
themselves, agree to train Caruso blindly, on
a chance of his succeeding? Caruso himself
is authority for the statement that Vergine,
when first he heard him, regarded the Caruso

Caruso's Boyhood and Early Training 17

throat as an indifferent one. Yet the contract
which he insisted on Caruso's signing, a con-
tract which guaranteed that Vergine should
receive twenty-five per cent of all his pupil's
earnings during his first five years in opera,
though it may have been a pure speculation,
appears to have been a very definite expres-
sion of confidence in the actual financial pos-
sibilities of Caruso's voice, once it had been
placed, faceted, and polished by training.

That Vergine praised Caruso but little, and
never gave him much encouragement while Ca-
ruso was studying with him, may have had its
reasons. Enrico was at that time no more than
an optimistic boy, easily satisfied and pleased
with what he did. Vergine, with his contract
in mind, would naturally try to make him con-
centrate intensively on his work, and to that
end would not wish him to think so well of
himself as to relax in his efforts.

Enrico took the best possible care of him-
self and worked hard, mentally and vocally,
at the exercises prescribed for him. His
progress was rapid, and he had already begun
to look forward to the time when he might

18 Carttso and the Art of Singing

hope to make his operatic debut, when his
studies were abruptly interrupted.

The universal military service law, strictly
enforced in Italy as in all other Continental
countries, compelled the budding tenor to give
up his solfeggi for soldiering. He made no
attempt to evade the call of duty, promptly
entered the army barracks, and was enrolled
in the Thirteenth Regiment of Artillery, then
in garrison at Rieti, in Perugia, a picturesque
medieval town in the midst of a vine- and
olive-groAving coimtryside whose fertility was
celebrated by both Virgil and Cicero.

In Rieti Enrico was a happy soldier, and
soon became a favorite with his fellow artil-
lery-men. When one of his comrades was
sent to the guard-house for some slight of-
fense, Enrico would ransom him by offering
to sing for the officer of the day any song the
latter especially wanted to hear. His offer
was seldom refused, and as a result Enrico's
company held him in high esteem. But so
flagrant a laxity on the part of officers on duty,
and so open a violation of regulations, was
not to continue unchecked.

It was on a lovely Easter Day, all sunshine

Caruso's Boyhood and Early Training 19

and blue skies, that the storm broke which
suddenly ended Enrico's role as the savior of
delinquent cannoniers. The officers had given
a banquet to the soldiers of the regiment,
Major Nagliati, the commander, occupying
the place of honor at the head of the table. At
the conclusion of the dinner it was proposed,
and unanimously seconded, that in the Ma-
jor's honor Enrico should sing the "Brindisi"
from "Cavalleria Rusticana." Enthusiastic
bravos and demands for an encore greeted the
conclusion of the song. It was then that
Major Nagliati raised his hand for silence and
made a little speech, short and very much to
the point, which put an effectual damper on
the festive spirit of the occasion. The Major
raked the regiment fore and aft, and Caruso
in particular, dwelling on the impropriety of
his putting that voice at every one's beck and
call, his unseemly use of it to effect the release
of military prisoners from the guard-house,
and the company's criminal folly in requesting
a singer to sing immediately after a meal.
Addressing himself to Enrico in particular,
he called him a fool, and said that Caruso was
unworthy of the great gift he evidently held

20 Caruso and the Art of Singing

in such light esteem. In conclusion he de-
clared that if any of the oflScers of his regi-
ment again compelled Caruso to sing, he
would have them put in ironsj regardless of
rank, and would have the singer punished as
well.

Yet, on the other hand, it was this same
Major Nagliati, who coming across the young
recruit one morning, as he sat before the bar-
racks polishing the brass buttons of his service
uniform coat and singing "open-throated,"
from sheer joy of living, asked him what he
did in civilian life. "I hope to become an opera
singer," mumbled the abashed private, who
could not imagine why the Major wanted to
know. That very evening he was informed
that the Major had hunted up a singing
teacher for him, a talented amateur musician
of Rieti. For the remainder of his two
months' stay in the garrison town — for Ca-
ruso's army life only lasted some sixty days
in all — he continued his interrupted studies
under this tuition. His release from military
service came about in a perfectly natural way.
His father had remarried, and Enrico's step-
mother, who had heard him sing and who

Caruso's Boyhood and Early Training 21

realized the possibilities of his voice, urged the
father to secure an honorable discharge. En-
rico's father had not grown a whit more
musical, but he had been much impressed by
his son's progress and the favorable predic-
tions made with regard to his future. The
discharge was easily effected, thanks to his
yoimger brother's willingness to serve out the
rest of Enrico's time as a substitute.

After this short military interlude, Enrico
returned to Vergine, and continued to study
with him for another six months. He had
studied with him some three years in all,
when his teacher dismissed him with a soberly
phrased letter of recommendation, and the
young tenor began to cast about for operatic
engagements.

Caruso's Upward Climb

Chapter II
CARUSO'S UPWARD CLIMB

In Italy, where tenor voices of lyric sweet-
ness are to be found in profusion, young
knights of the high C do not, as a rule, have
an easy time of it. Many a singer is tolerated
and even encouraged on French and German
operatic stages, both small and large, who
would be hissed off the boards in Italy. Ca-
ruso, however, did not fail to secure engage-
ments, though none of his earlier appearances
gave any indication of the fame to which he
was to attain later.

He made his debut in the Teatro Nuovo in
Naples, where he appeared four times in the
title-role of an unimportant opera, "L'Amico
Francesco," by Morelli. Enrico received ten
lire for each performance, with a pair of stage
shoes, a suit of fleshings, and a neckerchief
"thrown in." Twenty-six years later the
artist who had been glad to accept a fee of
ten lire for his first performance in grand
opera, refused the $12,000 a performance of-

25

26 Caruso and the Art of Singing

fered him for a series of appearances in Lima,
Peru. In Morelli's opera Caruso made no
very definite impression, one way or another.
The general opinion was that his voice had
a sympathetic quality of tone, but that it
was rather small and lacking in volume.
This opinion may have been more or less a re-
sult of Caruso's following Vergine's instruc-
tions to sing with restraint and not to let out
his voice, for Vergine's theories insisted that
the forte was the bane of the operatic voice
and that stress would kiU it.

At any rate, his negative virtues suflSced to
secure him another opportunity. He was
engaged for the opera at Caserta, in Cam-
pania, a garrison town about twenty-one miles
from Naples. In Caserta he sang Turiddu,
Camoens and — some prefer to consider this his
real debut— Faust in Boito's "Mefistofele."
This was in April, 1895, and again Caruso
was paid at the rate of ten lire a night, or
about two dollars. But in Caserta his sing-
ing attracted more favorable attention; for,
much to Vergine's disgust, he abandoned his
maestro's advice and "let out" his voice.

In the following year fortune treated him

Caruso's Uptaard Climb 27

somewhat more kindly. He appeared at
Genoa in "Traviata" and "Trovatore," and in
"Traviata," "Favorita," and "Gioconda" in
the Teatro Fondo at Naples, and in both cities
with some measure of success. These were,
perhaps, the first steps toward an increasing
recognition of his artistic merits.

His engagement at the Fondo in Naples
was followed in the same year by one at
Salerno, in whose opera house the season was
to be opened with a performance of Bellini's
"I Puritani." Lombardi, the famous singing
teacher, who was the conductor and who had
heard favorable reports regarding Caruso,
suggested his name to the management when
his leading tenor fell ill at the eleventh hour.
Caruso's earlier quasi-failures in Naples,
whether or not due to the vocal suppression
advocated by Vergine, had led to his being
called "the broken tenor;" but although one
of the directors of the Salerno opera men-
tioned this fact to Lombardi, the latter did not
allow it to influence him. He sent for the
young tenor, offered him the engagement, and
foimd himself entirely justified by the man-
ner in which Caruso acquitted himself of his

28 Carmo and the Art of Singing

role. Caruso's operatic "market value" was
on the increase, and he himself was gaining
greater confidence in his vocal powers, as well
as greater artistic maturity in his interpreta-
tions.

Lombardi, who gave him much disinterested
advice during this engagement, induced him
to ignore Vergine's instructions to hold back
his voice and not let it out in all its sonorous
strength. He encouraged Caruso to cultivate
a vigorous attack and a robust style of vocali-
zation, and told him that when he confronted
an audience he should carry himself like a
toreador, braving the natural skepticism of his
auditors with a veritable onslaught of tone.
The memory of this advice probably had its
share in developing that splendid vocal vigor
with which Caruso flung himself into his later
parts. There can be no doubt but that Lom-
bardi had a most salutary influence on the
tenor. Vergine had cramped and bound his
voice. As the tenor himself declared: "He
restrained all my inclination to color a note,
deprived me of all power of emphasis. For
three years I studied against my grain, repres-

Cairuso's Upward Climb 29

sing nature in order to become a Vergine
product."

It was Lombardi who made clear to Ca-
ruso that he need not assume a cold and
statuesque pose on the stage, singing his notes
prettily without distinguishing among them
with regard to intensity and color. As a pre-
cious outcome of his Salerno season imder
Lombardi, Caruso was able to say: "A great
light shone upon me, and never again did I
sing against nature. Thereafter I always
sang with all the voice I had when the right
moment came, and always with the color that
my heart told me should envelop my poet's
words. From that night when I sang "I Puri-
tani" in Salerno, I was never again called 'the
broken tenor.' "

Other engagements followed, in various
Italian cities, and Vergine — not for Caruso's
sake alone, as will appear — ^urged him to miss
no opportunity to sing in public and make
himself better known. This constant encour-
agement of Vergine's, his insistence that Ca-
ruso sing as often as possible, had a very
genuine, a financial, motive. Whenever and
wherever Caruso sang, his former teacher

30 Caruso and the Art of Singing

promptly put in an appearance to claim the
twenty-five per cent of the tenor's receipts
guaranteed him hy his contract. Caruso never
made any objection, but the monotonous regu-
larity with which Vergine presented himself
at the tenor's performances was so noticeable
that it attracted the attention of one manager.
He made some inquiries of Caruso; and when
the tenor showed him the contract, he pointed
out that, according to its terms, Vergine would
be entitled to a quarter of all Caruso could
earn during jive years of actual singing! In
other words, Caruso would be obliged to sing
steadily imtil he reached the age of fifty be-
fore Vergine would have received his final
payment. This discovery led Caruso to dis-
cuss with Vergine the unfair terms of the con-
tract, and it is pleasant to know that when the
matter was eventually referred to the Italian
courts for settlement, Caruso was upheld and
Vergine lost 200,000 lire by a decision ren-
dered in the tenor's favor.

His first real outstanding success Caruso
scored m the role of Marcello, in Leon-
cavallo's opera "Boheme," at the Teatro
Lirico in Milan. He had already, in Livorno,

Caruso's Upward Climb 31

sung Rodolfo in Puccini's more popular opera
of the same name. On that occasion he had
told Puccini that he could not put in the high
C in the Romanza, and the latter had inti-
mated that most tenors killed the aria for
the sake of the high note, and that he would
rather have the process reversed. Now Son-
zogno, the Italian publisher of Leoncavallo's
work, had brought him the latter's score, beg-
ging him to examine it, as he felt sure that it
was admirably suited to the tenor's voice.
Caruso, after studying it for some days with
Vergine — this was before their difference, of
course — convinced himself that he could not
do justice to the part and would fail in it.
Sonzogno, however, to whom he had returned
the score, renewed the attack, and his entire
faith that Caruso's success would be great and
immediate so encouraged the tenor that he
threw himself heart and soul into the prepara-
tion of the role. He sang it before a large
audience on November 8, 1898, in the Lirico,
and awakened the following morning to find
that he had become famous.

The press and public united in agreeing
that Caruso had not mistaken his vocation;

32 Caruso and the Art of Singing

and this, his first success, was the real begin-
ning of his artistic career. Among those who
had heard him for the first time was Jules
Massenet, whose "Navarraise" he also sang
during the same season. In his "Memoires"
Massenet says: "Among my memories of
Milan I have kept the recollection of being
present at Caruso's debut. The now famous
tenor was very modest then, and when, a year
later, I saw him wrapped in an ample fin-
coat, it was obvious that the figure of his salary
must have mounted crescendo. When I saw
him I did not envy him his brilliant fortune
or his undoubted talent, but I did regret —
that winter especially — ^that I could not put
his rich, warm coat on my own back."

The impression Caruso had made on No-
vember eighth was intensified by his appear-
ance at the Lirico on the sixteenth as the
creator of the role of Loris at the premiere of
Giordano's "Fedora." It was a part whose
exuberant melodic character and dramatic
effect the young artist improved to the utmost,
and after his singing of Loris' confession of
love, the short Giordano aria "Amor ti vieta
di non amar," he was given a tremendous ova-

Caruso's Upward Climb 33

tion, and was called before the curtain four
times. The following morning all the critics
agreed that Caruso had sung "Fedora" —
e la Fe 'd 'oro — ^in a manner truly golden.

His position as an operatic tenor was now
assured, though all his triumphs still lay be-
fore him. He sang in one Italian city after
another, including Livorno and Genoa, where
he was heard in Bizet's "I Pescatori di Perle"
at the Carlo Felice. In fact, the Milan ap-
pearances of 1898 mark a distinct milestone
in his development. The impression he made
in them was instrumental in bringing about
his transformation from a purely Italian
singer into the great world artist, and in re-
leasing him from the narrower sphere of the
Italian operatic stage. An intelligent im-
presario, looking for a new voice which might
justify an international career, decided he had
foimd one in Caruso. As will be shown, his
confidence was not misplaced.

Before we take up the second period of
Caruso's career, his development as an oper-
atic tenor of international fame, some consid-
erations anent the natural and artistic means
which aided him in his achievement may not

34 Caruso and the Art of Singing

be amiss. That Caruso was endowed with a
remarkable physique, with a powerful pair of
bellows, and with a wonderful vocal apparatus
is common knowledge. Many physicians,
competent and incompetent alike, have dis-
coursed at length upon Caruso's marvelous
vocal organism. Yet, after all, comparatively
little is known about the precise workings of
the little reed-like membranes which are called
the vocal cords, or of the other adjacent vocal
organs.

What we do know is that Caruso's natiu*al
advantages alone could never have made him
the great artist he developed into. -The physi-
ologists have, as a rule, overlooked an all-
important factor in the art of song — ^the men-
tal factor. The voice of Caruso, light and
lyric in quality at the beginning, prevented
from coming into its own by Vergine's theories
of repression, even in its later golden purity
and dramatic poignancy owed those subtler
inflections which move the human heart — ^the
flawless, sustained legato, the exquisite mezza
voce, the beautiful phrasing and expressive
declamation — ^to the great tenor's unremitting
hard work, both mental and technical, and to

Caruso's Upward Climb 35

his fidelity to the ideals of interpretation
which he never abandoned throughout his
career. His great natural gift of an excep-
tional voice was always the interpreting me-
dium for a controllmg artistic mind, and his
apparently effortless singing was not — as so
many erroneously believe — a freak of nature,
but the result of constant intensive devotion
to the study, riot only of his roles, but also of
the vocal exercises upon which his marvelous
technique was based. Some of his ovm state-
ments show how convinced he was that the
most wonderful voice in the world is soulless
imless it be spiritualized by the intellectual
and emotional factors.

It was this firm conviction that counted
heavily in Caruso's progress as a vocal artist;
it was a doctrine which gave his art a solid
foundation to build upon. Caruso fully com-
prehended the secret that to learn to sing
beautifully is an endless task.

With this secret, and with what is now ac-
knowledged to have been authentically the
greatest natural tenor voice of the period
ready to be revealed; backed by tireless, con-
scientious study; and equipped with a large

36 Caruso and the Ar t of Singing

repertory of tenor roles; with youth, enthusi-
asm, and ideals to lend wings to his ambition,
Enrico Caruso was indeed superbly prepared
to embark on his stupendous international
career in opera.

The Conquest of the Old World

Chapteb III
THE CONQUEST OF THE OLD WORLD

Caruso's first operatic flights beyond the
limits of his native land did not take him im-
mediately to the musically more famous capi-
tals of Europe. The enhanced reputation
which had prompted his engagement to create
the tenor role in the first Italian production
of Massenet's "Sapho," at the Scala in Milan,
led to a short Egyptian excursion, though his
successes in Cairo and Alexandria may be re-
garded as mere extensions of his Italian suc-
cesses, since, musically speaking, Egypt is
still as much a Roman colony as in the days
of the emperors.

More important in spreading his rising fame
abroad were two winter tours to Russia,
where he made a great impression in Moscow
and Petrograd, and the first of five successive
summer seasons in Buenos Aires (1899-1903),
which served to make him known in South
America. In the fall of 1899 he appeared in
the Costanzi in Rome and at the Communale

39

40 Caruso and the Art of Singing

in Bologna. It was in the latter theater that
he first sang the role of Rhadames in "Aida,"
and established his confidence in his high C,
which hitherto he had regarded with a trace of
distrust.

In 1900 he sang in Covent Garden, Lon-
don, for the first time, appearing as Des
Grieux in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut," his
beautiful voice winning frenetic applause from
the audience. The same year, at the Milan
Scala, then directed by Gatti-Casazza and
Toscanini, he opened the season triumphantly
with Puccini's "La Boheme"; and in 1901,
during the Carnival, he sang again in the
same house, creating the Florindo of Mas-
cagni's "Le Maschere." This opera, despite
the fact that it was pijpduced simultaneously
at seven of the most important Italian opera
houses — ^Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Venice,
Verona, and Naples — on January 17 of that
year, was a failure, though Caruso did much
to redeem the work by his convincing pres-
entation of his part. He also appeared
in Boito's "Mefistofele," and in Donizetti's
"L'Elisir d'Amore"; and notwithstanding
that two older tenors of established fame were

The Conquest of the Old World 41

still active on the operatic stage of his native
land, Caruso had by this time been generally
recognized by press and public as the fore-
most of Italian tenors.

In the autumn of 1901 he sang at Treviso
and at Bologna in "La Tosca," and again in
Milan for the Carnival of 1902, both at the
Lirico, where he created the tenor role in
Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur," and at La
Scala, in Franchetti's "Germania." It was
in this year that he also sang at Monte Carlo,
with Melba — and was at once engaged for
four seasons — and at Covent Garden, Lon-
don, on May 14, as the Duke in "Rigoletto."

This London appearance was a great suc-
cess so far as the public was concerned,
though the critics in general did not recognize
his possibilities. There had been but little
advance publicity to herald his coming, and
one London paper dismissed the performance
the next morning with the bald statement that
"the part of the Duke was carefully sung by
M. Caruso." Throughout this season his
singing won increasing applause at each of
his appearances, but at that time his name on

42 Caruso and the Art of Singing

the boards never led to a rush on the box
office.

During the winter of 1903-1904 he sang in
Rome and in Lisbon, and it was on Novem-
ber 23, 1903, that he made his debut at the
Metropohtan Opera House in New York, in
"Rigoletto."

His career in the United States — and it is
with the United States and the Metropolitan
Opera House in particular that he was most
closely and intimately identified after his first
appearance in this country in 1903 — ^is a story
in itself, and in order not to interrupt the se-
quence of his European successes, its consid-
eration has been deferred till the following
chapter.

Dating from his season in 1904, his popu-
larity in London was immense, and he sang
there every summer until the year 1907, when
the management declined to reengage him,
pleading that his fee was excessive. This,
however, did not interfere with his appearing
in the British capital in concerts — ^notably the
great Charity Concert in Albert Hall in 1908,
during which year he also toured the English
provinces — and at private entertainments, al-

The Conquest of the Old World 43

ways eagerly sought and drawing immense
audiences at all affairs of a public character.

It was his Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Bo-
heme," which, more than any other single role,
served to establish his popularity in London,
though he also created the part of Pinkerton
in Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" in that
city, singing its music to perfection. In 1914
Caruso did accept a London engagement; it
marked his last appearance in that city, and
his singing in the last act of "Tosca" moved
a critic to declare that: ". . . the mezza voce
he used to present his legato passages thrilled
the soul, as though the most glorious days of
the past had come echoing back under a
cupola of gold to remind us that never in our
lifetime could we hope to hear anything com-
parable with that unique tenor which can only
be summed up in one word — Caruso!"

Strange to say, among the great musical
capitals of Europe, Paris is the one in which
Caruso was least known, for he sang there
no more than half a dozen times, usually at
gala performances. In March, 1904, he took
the part of Pinkerton in the creation of Puc-
cini's "Madame Butterfly" at Monte Carlo;

44 Caruso and the Art of Singing

but it was not until 1905, as a member of Son-
zogno's Italian Company, that he appeared at
the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt. Although he
was enthusiastically received by the Parisian
public, his other outstanding Paris appear-
ances were few in number. In 1906, with
characteristic generosity, he interrupted a con-
cert tour in order to sing at the Trocadero in
the city on the Seine for a benefit concert
which had been organized by the elder
Coquelin on behalf of the Association of Dra-
matic Artists. The French government ex-
pressed its appreciation of this action by mak-
ing Caruso a chevalier of the Legion of
Honor. In 1912 he was heard at the Chatelet
Theatre in "Aida," "Pagliacci," and Puccini's
"Manon Lescaut"; and in the same year he
created the role of Dick Johnson (Ramerrez)
in Puccini's "FanciuUa del West" at the
Paris Opera.

In 1907 he included Leipsic, Hamburg, and
Berlin in a German towrnSe and was every-
where received with enthusiasm. In Berlin,
in particular, in 1907, 1910, and 1912, the
years of his appearances in that city, German
critical opinion was unanimously agreed that

The Conquest of the Old World 45

no such powerful, high, and brilliant tenor
voice had ever been heard before; and even
those ancients who had heard the greatest
artists of a generation or more could not re-
call a voice which could have measured itself
beside Caruso's as regards perfected beauty,
warmth, and genuine golden tone. The tech-
nique of his breath control — ^in which his sys-
tem of rigorous vocal exercise played no un-
important part — ^together with his histrionic
ability, was accorded the greatest praise. The
same critical opinion attended his appearances
in Munich, in Stuttgart, and in Hamburg as
well.

In Vienna, the Vienna of the Hapsburgs,
the way for Caruso's coming had been pre-
pared by the sensational accounts of his fan-
tastic American successes, and their — to Eu-
ropean minds — incredible financial rewards,
for some two years prior to his first appear-
ance at the Hofoper. This took place in
1905, and though he won a victory in the role
of the Duke of Mantua in "Rigoletto," at that
time the role he sang best from a purely vocal
point of view, it was, as one Viennese critic
declared, "a victory without conquest."

46 Caruso and the Art of Singing

Vienna did not really capitulate until he
sang there in October, 1907. Then he was
received with genuine enthusiasm, was obliged
to repeat his canzonetta in "Rigoletto" three
separate times, and even to repeat the solo
at the beginning of the quartet, an unheard-
of encore. But he won the Viennese com-
pletely and finally with his impersonation of
Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme"; for he
was the original, living bohemien of'Murger's
novel, a fun-maker, full of practical jokes and
wanton high spirits, a child, now laughing,
now in tears. And in his singing he was not
"merely" a poet.

The third role he presented to the Viennese
audiences was that of Rhadames in "Aida,"
carrying them away in the "NUe" act, in his
B flat major aria, and in the duo, "Morir si
pura e bella." The public feted him as a
singer, and paid him an homage it had ac-
corded few singers before him. The tumult
at the box-office, the storm on the galleries,
the incredible activity of the ticket specu-
lators, and the scenes at the "Operntiirl," the
exit of the Hofoper, where the famous singer's
horses would undoubtedly have been taken

The Conquest of the Old World 47

from their traces had it not been an auto-
mobile that carried him away from the scene
of his triumphs, were of nightly occurrence.
After 1907 Caruso appeared in Vienna
every year, and endeared himself in particular
with his Richard in "Un Ballo in Maschera,"
his Canio, and his Don Jose. When he ap-
peared in "Carmen" for the first time in
Vienna, the ordinarily well-bred Austrian pub-
lic in its enthusiasm simply compelled him to
a repetition in the middle of an act against his
will. He had just ended his famous romance,
and was kneeling at Carmen's feet, whose
hand was caressingly laid upon his head. A
tremendous burst of applause forced him to
rise. There was a general cry of his, bis! The
singer indicated by a movement of his hand
that a repetition was impossible for him, and
again knelt. But the storm of applause kept
on, and Caruso once more bowed his acknowl-
edgments, refused the encore, and again pre-
pared to continue the duet at Carmen's feet.
The public, however, simply would not allow
him to sing, though he made several further
attempts. In the end the artist was obliged
to resign himself, rise, and do as the public

48 Caruso and the Art of Singing

wished. And yet Caruso attained to even
greater dramatic heights in the fourth act of
the opera, when, with a cry like that of some
ravening wild beast, he flung himself upon
Carmen, It was at such moments that one
realized that Caruso was not alone a model
singer of bel canto, but a portrayer of human
character, a creative artist of the most pro-
found emotional passion and power. When
Caruso sang in Vienna in 1913, before the
War, he received $3,000 a performance, ap-
proximately 15,000 crowns, an immense svim
for that city, and shortly before the War seats
were practically sold at auction wherever he
appeared in Austria or Germany.

It is worthy of remark that no matter where
Caruso sang, whether in Russia or in Cuba,
England or Mexico, France or Germany,
Italy or the United States, the manner in
which his singing united perfected tone and
genuine emotion, a technique beyond compare,
and a gift for dramatic impersonation which
has rarely been equalled on the operatic stage,
won for him all his auditors, irrespective of
their nationality.

The Conquest of the New World

Chapter IV

THE CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD

The American debut of Enrico Caruso
would undoubtedly have taken place earlier
than it did, but for the fact that Maurice Grau
resigned his post as impresario of the Metro-
politan Opera House, After negotiating with
Caruso for about a year, Grau had persuaded
the tenor — then already famous in Europe but
practically unknown in America — to sign a
contract to join the Metropohtan forces.
Heinrich Conried, who succeeded Grau at the
Opera House and inherited this contract, was
primarily a theatrical man and not a grand
opera manager, and never having heard of the
tenor, was at first not too eager to assume the
responsibility of bringing over a singer un-
known to him. There are many legends re-
garding Conried's final decision to invite Ca-
ruso to these shores, of which the most amusing
one is to the effect that the impresario's Italian
bootblack must share the honor, having made
an appeal in the great tenor's favor. As a

51

52 Carmo and the Art of Singing

matter of fact, it was Maurice Grau's sound
judgment, together with information freshly-
gathered, that overcame Cohried's reluctance;
and Enrico Caruso made his American defbut
at the Metropolitan Opera House on Novem-
ber 23, 1903, as the Duke in "Rigoletto,"
Madame Sembrich singing the role of Gilda.
The great audience that filled the Metro-
politan that memorable night of Caruso's
career had not come to welcome the new
tenor: the management had done nothing to
arouse curiosity about him. Madame Sem-
brich, who had already become a great favorite
with New York opera audiences, was warmly
welcomed; so was the new conductor, Signor
Vigna. But when Enrico Caruso entered
upon the stage, all he received from the audi-
ence was a respectful silence. This cold re-
ception would have dismayed many a singer,
especially if he was accustomed to being lion-
ized in the capitals of Europe. Caruso, how-
ever, did not permit the audience's indiflfer-
ence to ruffle him. He was determined to win
recognition. He sang with great care, intent
on having his instrument under complete con-
trol. Before that performance of "Rigoletto"

The Conquest of the New World 53

was concluded, Caruso had conquered the
audience.

The following day the critics hailed Caruso
as a great artist with a wonderful vocal organ.
The indifference of the audience, when he had
first made his entrance, now added glory and
dramatic interest to his triumph.

"Strange to say," wrote the Post, "whereas
the new conductor, Mr. Vigna, was greeted
with a round of applause when he took his
seat in the lowered orchestral space, where he
disappeared from sight, not a hand was raised
for Mr. Caruso when he became visible on the
stage. Nobody seemed to know him; nor is
that strange, for he is a young man — ^^only
thirty years of age — and he was hardly known,
even in Italy, until five years ago. Having
established his fame at Milan and Genoa, he
sang for two seasons in St. Petersburg, and
then went to South America, where his popu-
larity soon induced the manager to double the
price of his seats. In London he subsequently
made a sensational success, which led to his
engagement for New York. Real tenors,
Italian or otherwise, are extremely scarce, and

54s Caruso and the Art of Singing

Mr. Caruso is in demand in every city which
has opera; we simply got him because in New
York we have 'the high-salary crime' — a
crime which has its advantages.

"If Mr. Caruso was received in silence, the
loud applause which greeted his first air,
Questa o quella, made ample amends. And
the enthusiasm grew from act to act, culmi-
nating in an ovation after La donna e mohile.
True, he exaggerated its catchpenny effect by
his vocal flourishes at the end; but the changes
of pace he introduced in the melody made it
seem less offensive than usual, and his phras-
ing, here as in the other numbers, was remark-
ably artistic and refined. Like some of his
famous colleagues, he was not at his best early
in the evening; but as he warmed up to his
task his voice was revealed as a genuine tenor
of excellent quality, which it will be a pleas-
lu-e to hear again. To hear him sing duos with
Mme. Sembrich was a rare treat."

Not yet had Caruso reached those heights
of perfection in the mastery of his voice and
in the subtlety of his interpretations which
were later to make him supreme in the realm
of song. But the vital quality of sincerity,

The Conquest of the New World 55

which makes the artist's work effective and
convincing, was there; it was the predominant
characteristic of Caruso's singing and it was
that which roused so keen an interest in his
future. That it was his large vocal power
and the ringing tones of his upper range which
stirred the greatest number of his hearers,
there is no doubting; but the keener and more
cultivated listeners were impressed by the deli-
cate and finely spun phrasing, by the exquisite
musical delivery, and by that manliness which
reveals the sincerity of an artist.

The musical writer for the Times recognized
in Caruso a sterling singer whose art was not
only charged with passion but also controlled
by intelligence. He wrote about the debut:

"It signalized the first appearance of one
of the most important of Mr. Conried's new
artists, one upon whom much wiU depend dur-
ing the coming season — Enrico Caruso, who
took the part of the Duke. He made a highly
favorable impression, and he went far to sub-
stantiate the reputation that had preceded
him in this country. He is an Italian in all
his fiber, and his acting and singing are char-
^.cteristic of what Italy now affords in those

56 Carmo and the Art of Singing

arts. His voice is purely a tenor in its quality,
of high range, and of large power, but inclined
to take on the 'white' quality in its upper
ranges when he lets it forth. In mezza voce
it has expressiveness and flexibility, and when
so used its beauty is most apparent. Mr.
Caruso appeared last evening capable of in-
telligence and of passion in both his sin^ng
and his acting, and gave reason to believe in
his value as an acquisition to the company."

The musical critic of the Sun was impresiSed
by Caruso's finer qualities as a vocal artist.
He said in part :

"Mr. Caruso, the new tenor, made a thor-
oughly favorable impression, and will prob-
ably grow into the firm favor of this public.
He has a pure tenor voice of fine quality and
sufficient range and power. It is a smooth
and mellow voice and is without the typical
Italian bleat. Mr. Caruso has a natural and
free delivery and his voice carries well with-
out forcing. He phrased his music tastefully
and showed considerable refinement of style.

"His clear and pealing high tones set the
bravos wild with delight, but connoisseurs of

The Conquest of the New World 57

singing saw more promise for the season in his
mezza voce and his manliness."

Caruso had scored a success, but one that
fell far short of the great enthusiasm he was
afterward to arouse. Profound as was the im-
pression he had made, little did the people who
heard him sing that night realize that the new
tenor was soon to become one of the pillars
of the Metropolitan Opera House, nay, its
mainstay for nearly a generation. For Caruso
introduced at the Metropolitan a new stand-
ard of vocal art, a singing so rich and vibrant
in its delivery that it seemed to overshadow
the art of all those master-singers who had
preceded him in that famous house of music.
There were memories of great voices at the
Metropolitan when Enrico Caruso arrived;
there may have been voices of greatej:. power;
there may have been voices of greater agility;
but none had possessed the infinite gradations
of tone color, nor the poignant utterance of
Caruso's glorious organ. Even at that time
he carried his voice with great skill through-
out a wide compass and sang each tone, from
the lowest to the highest, with a purity and
roundness that captivated his auditors. The

58 Caruso and the Art of Singing

voice he had brought to the MetropoUtan was
a tenor of fine texture, both velvety and opu-
lent in quaUty; but it was the warmth and
magnetism of his tones that moved his hearers
and compelled their enthusiasm. At all
events, after his dehut Caruso's art was closely
watched not only by all the New York critics
but by the general public as well.

The many admirers the new tenor had won
at his first performance were very eager to
hear his Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme,"
which he was scheduled to sing a few days
later. But the sharp weather which some-
times visits New York in late November
brought them disappointment. Caruso had
contracted a severe cold and could not appear.
His sudden indisposition caused the manage-
ment of the Metropolitan a good deal of un-
easiness; they felt that here was a popular
tenor upon whom they could not rely. The
new impresario, Heinrich Conried, soon
learned, however, that Enrico Caruso was an
artist who disliked to disappoint his audiences.
In fact, although not in fit vocal condition to
sing Rhadames, Caruso consented to appear
in "Aida" just a week after his debut, and the

The Conqttest of the New World 59

plaudits that were showered on him were more
enthusiastic and tumultuous than they had
been at his first appearance.

"The greatest interest," said the Times,
"was felt in Mr. Caruso's assumption of the
part of Rhadames, and though he evidently
had not recovered from the troubles that put
so sudden a check upon his career here after
his first appearance, he materially deepened
the favorable impression he then made. He
was clearly singing with circumspection and
care, especially in the first act of the opera,
and seldom ventured to put forth the full
power of his voice. But in the very manner
in which he did this he proved the remarkable
mastery he possesses over his organ, and the
skill of his vocal technique, the manifold re-
sources he possesses to make every effect
count, even against the most unfavorable in-
fluences. He sang with some evidences of
effort when he did sing with his full power.
With all his reserve, however, the quality, the
flexibility, and the expressive capacity of his
voice beautified everything he did. His action
was forceful and authoritative, so far as
force and authority come into the purview of

60 Caruso and the Art of Singing

Rhadames' experience. There were passion
and conviction in his interpretation of the
hated lover, and everywhere the marks of the
adept in stagecraft. It was an admirable per-
formance and commanded not only the en-
thusiastic plaudits of the cooler portions of the
audience, but also the frenzied 'bravos' of his
compatriots, who were present in large num-
bers. After the third act there were scenes
of tumultuous enthusiasm."

The musical writer for the Post was im-
pressed by Caruso's style and refined phras-
ing. He wrote: "And last, not least, was the
Rhadames of Signor Caruso, whose singing of
Celeste A'ida was followed by a great outburst
of applause; and he deserved it. Reports
from abroad did not exaggerate the merits of
this tenor. He is what has so long been looked
for — a successor to Campanini, and more, too.
While his voice is not so reliable as Cam-
panini's, it is infused with more ardor and has
more dramatic power, while being equally
beautiful in quality when at its best."

The critic of the Sun was no less impressed
by the qualities of Caruso's singing. In his
review of the performance of "Aida" he said;

The Conquest of the New World 61

"Mr. Caruso, the new Italian tenor, confirmed
the good impression he made at his debut. He
saved himself a good deal in the early part of
the opera, which was wise in view of his recent
indisposition, but this gave him an oppor-
tunity to show the resources of his art in
Celeste A'ida. He sang the air quietly but
tastefully and with good effect. In the Nile
scene he let himself out and made the bravos
wild with delight."

In the Tribune, Caruso's song art was also
praised. The critic wrote: "The latter (Signor
Caruso) was plainly still suffering from the in-
disposition which worked such shipwreck in
the representation of 'La Boheme' last Fri-
day night, and 'Rigoletto' on Saturday after-
noon. But his skill in overcoming the draw-
back helped to a keener appreciation of his
knowledge of the art of singing, and invited
still greater admiration for the superb beauty
of his voice. The pleasure which his singing
gives is exquisite, scarcely leaving room for
curious shortcomings touching his limitations."

A few days later Caruso sang the role of
Cavaradossi in "Tosca." He displayed the
same skill as a vocal artist and as an inter-

62 Caruso and the Art of Singing

preter of character which he had disclosed in
his first two appearances at the Opera House.
He sang the music of the young revolutionist
with warmth and color, and the famous aria
E Ittcevan le stelle brought forth rounds and
rounds of applause. But Caruso had not yet
revealed to American opera-goers all of the
vocal artistry and eloquence that he had
at his command. Thus far he had been
heard in but one role to which he had
done full justice — the Duke in "Rigoletto,"
which he had svmg with a charm, grace, and
nonchalance that captivated his hearers.

In "Aida" and "Tosca" he had not been
quite himself, because he dared not give full
sway to his golden voice. But by the time he
made his f oiui;h appearance, he had completely
regained his vocal powers and he infused into
his song such art and beauty that he was un-
stintedly accorded the supreme place among
singing men.

"Mr. Caruso," wrote the Times, "showed
yesterday afternoon for the first time since he
has been in this country the supreme beauty
of his voice and the perfection of his style
when he is at his best. He took the part of

The Conquest of the New World 63

Rodolfo — ^the part which he was prevented
from assuming in the first week of the season
by the throat trouble that temporarily put
him out of commission in Mr. Conried's forces
and that left its traces after he had returned
to service.

"Mr. Caruso plays the part of Puccini's
Latin Quarter hero with especial sympathy
and presents a figure of unusual attractive-
ness. ... It has distinction in its kind bon-
homie, hvmior, pathos. But it was most strik-
ing in its musical side. Mr. Caruso's voice
has never sounded so deliciously pure, rich,
and smooth, so clear and warm in its upper
tones, so full and free in its emission without
a trace of the 'white' and open quality that
was objected to at his first appearance.

"He sang with great fervor and passion,
and poured out his voice with prodigality.
Now we know what Mr. Caruso's voice really
is. As it was displayed yesterday afternoon,
it was such a one as has not been enjoyed here
for a long time, and enjoyment of it was raised
to a higher power by the skill with which it
was put at the service of a keenly felt dra-
matic conception."

64 Caruso and the Art of Singing

In that same season (1903-1904) Caruso
appeared in four other operas: "I Pagliacci,"
"La Traviata," "Lucia di, Lammermoor," and
"L'Elisir d'Amore." As Canio in "Pag-
liacci," he evinced his versatile genius; his im-
personation of the tragic Pagliaccio — a species
of strolling clown who is often a comedian, a
singer, and a pantomimist — ^made known that
he was not only a great singer, but an actor
of fine intelligence too. It was a perform-
ance instinct with musicianship as well as with
unusual histrionic abihty. To this work of
Leoncavallo's, the only genuine masterpiece
the composer was destined to give to the
world, Caruso brought a personality of such
power and magnetism that he and the opera
were from that time on inseparable. Caruso,
by his great acting and singing, made the role
of Canio his own. "I Pagliacci" had been
sung at the Metropolitan Opera House before
Caruso became a member of that company,
but no one before Caruso had given full ex-
pression to the vocal and dramatic possibili-
Jie&jn Canio^ True, Caruso himself had not
yet reached the eminence as a singer and
creator of character that he was to achieve

The Conquest of the New World 65

after more years of diligent work, the high
tide of art which finally made his interpreta-
tion of Canio a marvel of the operatic stage.
But the fire and passion, the sardonic humor
and bitter irony, and the tragic note which he
breathed into the role even at his first appear-
ance in it at the Metropolitan did much to
enhance the dramatic significance of the opera.
It was after Caruso had infused into the pul-
sating rhythm and melody of "Pagliacci" the
eloquence of his glorious voice and the vitaUty
of his dramatic style that Leoncavallo's great
work attained in America the popularity it
deserves.

As Alfredo in "La Traviata," Caruso
scored another success. He sang his airs in
a masterly manner and seemed to put the
charm of novelty into whatever music he chose
to interpret. No aria that he sang sounded
antiquated or colorless, so marvelous were the
effects of his magic art. Even the puppet
heroes of the old operas Caruso could trans-
form into real beings with emotions and pas-
sions; and as a result of this revivification their
utterance in song acquired a new interest. It
is thus that Caruso made Edgardo in "Lucia

66 Carmo and the Art of Singing

di Lammennoor" seem real and human. Like-
wise, as Nemorino in "L'Elisir d'Amore,"
Caruso put so much feeling and pathos into
the music of the futile and ungraceful lover
that it became of vital significance to the audi-
ence. He enraptured his hearers with his
heart-felt and delicately-nuanced rendering of
the famous airs Una furtiva lagrima and
Quanta e bella. Flowery and old-fashioned
melodies took on a new glamovr when Caruso
ennobled them by his fluent delivery and re-
fined style, and he sang these two with a
genuine lyrical beauty which never degener-
ated into whining sentimentality. Even in
their most feeble moments, his singing im-
parted to them virility and body. And as for
the rhetorical passion with which most of the
old arias are replete, the stirring appeal of
Caruso's ringing tones made even that affected
ardor convincing.

The element in the song art which made his
rendering of the old arias so remarkable was
an unusual technical equipment. His voice
was not only extraordinarily flexible, so that
the tone gradations between a pianissimo and
a fortissimo were infinite in variety, but it was

The Conquest of the New World 67

just as preeminent in its agility. This per-
fection of vocal technique made it possible for
Caruso to sing the florid passages of the arias
with a brilliance which evoked the versatile
artists of the golden age of song. No such
fioritura singing had been heard from a tenor
voice. Indeed, Caruso executed the flourish-
ing runs and cadenzas so brilhantly and with
such clean-cut agility that his audience re-
mained breathless at his vocal artistry. These
were the qualities in Caruso's singing — the
warmth and magnetism of his tones, the com-
pelling expressiveness of his style, the great
suppleness of his delivery, and his unusual
dramatic powers — that foretold, after his first
season at the Metropolitan Opera House, a
great American career.

It is curious, however, that in the course of
the South American engagement at Buenos
Aires which Caruso filled during the same
year, he was given quite a cool reception. The
opera subscribers there were disappointed
when he appeared in Boito's "Mefistofele,"
and even requested the management not to
renew its contract with him for the following
year. But by the time the following year had

68 Caruso cmd the "Art of Singing

arrived, Caruso had so firmly established him-
self in the favor of his American audiences
with "La Gioconda," "Lucrezia Borgia,"
"Les Huguenots," "Un Ballo in Maschero,"
as well as with the operas in which he had ap-
peared the first season, and was now in such
demand, both in America and Europe, that
Buenos Aires did not have an opportunity to
hear him again for twelve years. It was not
until 1915, when the new Colon Opera House
in that city had been completed, that the man-
agement succeeded in reengaging Caruso; and
it now had to pay him 350,000 francs for ten
performances, instead of the 30,000 francs he
had previously received for an entire season.
/ During Caruso's second season at the Met-
ropohtan his popularity with the public grew
tremendously. On the night when he sang aU
the seats were sold, and there was always a
long line of standees waiting to secure tickets
for the performance. Before the second sea-
son was over Caruso was no longer merely a
favorite opera singer: he had become a popu-
lar idol. No singer at the Metropolitan had
ever fired the public imagination as Caruso
had done. For the great majority of people.

The Conquest of the New World 69

he and the Metropolitan Opera House had
become one. Even the Wagner enthusiasts,
who would have been overjoyed to have so
glorious a voice to reveal the music of Sig-
fried, Sigmund, and Tristan to the world, re-
luctantly admitted that Caruso made irresisti-
ble whatever music he sang.

On March 5, 1906, Caruso appeared for the
first time at the Metropohtan as Don Jose in
"Carmen." "The theatre was crowded,"
wrote the musical critic of the Sun, "...
Signor Caruso was singing Don Jose for the
first time here and making his second appear-
ance in French. In these days, when New
York is no longer opera mad, but Caruso mad,
this was sufiicient occasion for the audience
and its enthusiasm. It may be said at the out-
set, for the comfort of the tenor's admirers,
that he put another success to his credit."

Such is the popularity that Caruso had won
toward the end of his third season in New
York. Prior to his appearance in "Carmen,"
he had sung in four other operas for the first
time at the Metropolitan; he had opened the
season with "La Favorita"; the following
week he had added "La Sonnambula"; and

70 Caruso and the Art of Singing

later in the season "Faust" and "Marta." His
beautiful cantilena singing found a most suit-
able outlet in Donizetti's melodious "La
Favorita," and the musical significance of
"La Sonnambula" and of "Marta" awoke
under his masterly vocal art. In "Faust"
Caruso's singing was notable, but he was sing-
ing in French for the first time, so that he did
not attain his usual high level in Gounod's
opera. Moreover, Caruso had already set up
so high a standard that his audiences would
have nothing short of perfection. "Faust"
left some dissatisfaction among the more ar-
dent of his admirers.

So the announcement that Caruso would
sing Don Jose occasioned much discussion as
to the tenor's qualifications to sing French
opera. The opera-goers who lacked confi-
dence in Caruso's powers were destined to be
disappointed. His Don Jose was a triumph.
Vocally and dramatically, the tenor gave an
exceedingly finished performance that deeply
stirred the audience. In Caruso's interpreta-
tion, Don Jose became the truly tragic lover
that he is, not merely a stage puppet; there
was remarkable acting in his portrayal of the

The Conquest of the New World 71

unhappy soldier dominated by a passion which
leads him to destruction. But Caruso's inter-
pretation of Bizet's exquisite music and pro-
pulsive rhythms was even more striking than
his acting. He thrilled the audience with his
singing of the famous romance in the second
act, La fleur que tu m'avais jettSe, leading up
tp a climax of overwhelming dramatic and
vocal power at the end of the air with Carmen,
je faime. The artistic phrasing, the dynamic
contrasts and gradations, the beauty of tone,
and the warmth of passion with which Caruso
sang this exquisite tale of the flower was alone
sufficient to rank him as the foremost of all
Don Joses.

His superb acting and singing in "Carmen"
made ample amends for his less perfect per-
formance earlier in the season in "Faust."
There were no longer any doubts as to whether
he might be merely a master in Italian operas;
in fact, his great success in "Carmen" fore-
shadowed his later triumph in "Samson et
Dalila" and in what was, alas, to be his last
creation, "La Juive." Caruso's was, indeed,
a versatile genius ; and had he been called upon
at the Metropolitan to enlarge still further

72 Caruso cmd the Art of Singing

the scope of his repertory he would have
achieved unique success in many other roles.
At one time there were rimiors that he might
appear in "Lohengrin": now we can only
speculate about what wondrous music would
have been poured out had Enrico Caruso
chosen to sing Lohengrin or Tristan.

It is difficult to divide Caruso's career into
periods when he sang either lyric, semi-dra-
matic, or dramatic roles. It was only at the
very beginning of his career that he confined
himself to parts written primarily for the
lyric tenor; for after he had gained a foothold
in the world of opera, he essayed to sing roles
which required dramatic vocal power. Al-
though Caruso never sought power for its own
sake, he steadily cultivated the intensity of his
voice with a view to attaining the necessary
vocal power to be able to sing dramatic roles
with ease. For he knew full well the danger
of straining the vocal organs. That was why
he did not attempt, for example, Samson or
Eleazer until he felt that the power of his
voice had been sufficiently developed to do
justice to these two mighty roles. Caruso had
always wished to sing Verdi's "Otello"; but,

The Conquest of the New World 73

season after season, he postponed appearing
in it, so that he might still develop the vocal
resources essential for that great part. How
many tenors in the annals of opera have been
so conscientious about their art? For it was,
with Caruso, a straight question of art; he was
well aware of the fact that there can be no
beautiful singing when the vocal organs are
strained or forced.

Generally speaking, the first period of his
career at the Metropolitan may be called his
lyric one. His roles were, more or less, the
essentially lyric parts in the repertory operas
which had made him famous in Italy and in
the other principal countries of Europe. But
Caruso aspired to more than the honors of a
purely lyric tenor. He was too devoted to
the art he loved to wish to forego the great
dramatic roles of the operatic repertory, roles
he was not only vocally, but also histrionically,
so uniquely quahfied to present. Thus, in
what might be called his second period, he be-
gan to add the more dramatic characteriza-
tions to what in the end was to be a magnifi-
cent repertory of more than seventy roles —
some of which he never sang, though he had

74 Caruso and the Art of Singing

acquired and perfected them, since he was
never averse to studying a new part.

The perfected control of so large a reper-
tory, including some of the most difficult
roles in all opera, testifies to the wide range
of his conception. His ambition, successfully
realized, to shine in the more dramatic and
heroic roles of opera led, through diligent
practice, to the development of that pow-
erful tone of his middle range which in
"Armide," "Les Huguenots," "Le Prophete,"
"La Juive," and "I Paghacci" — though his
Canio in the last-named opera was a part
which he sang during all three of his periods
— aided him in securing such brilliant effects
of declamation. It was in connection with
this middle range of his voice that he once
said: "In a legato phrase the 'cello in particu-
lar, when well played, is almost identical with
the human voice. It often inspires the tones
of my middle range, and I often lead up
those tones just as the 'celhst does on his A
string."

The quality of Caruso's voice broadened
considerably and became more intense with
the passing years ; but it never lost the golden

The Conquest of the New World 75

timbre which distinguished it from every other
tenor voice. Though, as he tended more and
more to the dramatic, he sang such roles as
the Duke of Mantua and Rodolfo less often;
though a new method of attack, more vigor-
ous and spontaneous (at times well-nigh ex-
plosive) marked the transition to his last pe-
riod — inaugurated, let us say, by his won-
derful Samson in Saint-Saens' "Samson et
DalUa"; nevertheless the ringing brilliancy,
the rounded glory, of the tones of his upper
range did not desert him.

This last period of Caruso's artistic activity
reveals him at his greatest. Here the ma-
tured, perfected artist made deliberate choice
of those roles of heroic scope and possibility
which not even his glorious voice could infuse
with dramatic conviction without the brain and
the actor that had studied its perfect blending
with the stage presentation of the character
portrayed. Was there ever a more striking
picture to be found on the operatic stage than
his Samson, despoiled of his strength, the
mock of the Phihstines, blind and chained to
the treadmill? In his John of Leyden, in "Le
Prophete," the madness of the anabaptist

76 Caruso cmd the Art of Singing

King of Sion, his depraved and bloodthirsty-
character, was actually forgotten when Ca-
ruso, in the fourth act, portrayed his demoniac
renunciation of his mother in a manner at
once so grandiose and so majestic that one was
almost inclined to believe in the pretender and
his mission. And in "La Juive" the over-
whelmingly dramatic conception of revenge
personified by Caruso as Eleazer in the lat-
ter's aria in the second act, and the emotional
tenseness of the great aria of the fourth act,
in which he asks God's guidance, was some-
thing no other tenor of his day could equal.
It is characteristic of Caruso's attention to
detail that while he was studying the role of
Eleazer he coached with one of the foremost
Yiddish actors of New York in order to make
himself letter-perfect in every inflection of
Jewish orthodox manner and custom de-
manded by the part. .

Certain operas which Caruso created at the
Metropolitan Opera House will always be as-
sociated with his name, and that less because
of the works themselves than for what he made
of them by his singing of his own roles. There
was his Nadir, for example, in Bizet's "Les
Pecheurs de Perles." Though there is but

The Conquest of the New World 77

little incident in this operatic tale of the loves
of two Cingalese pearl-fishers for the priestess
Leila, and though its music — in spite of its
charm and originality — is not so very charac-
teristic of Bizet's genius, Caruso, by the man-
ner in which he handled the few scenes of real
dramatic force, gave the score an unexpected
unity and significance. And all who think
that Caruso's stage victories were won with-
out effort would change their views if they
knew how he worked to create the title role
of Charpentier's "Julien" (February 26,
1914) . It is a question whether, taken purely
as a role, Caruso ever gave a finer and a more
sincere interpretation, one based on harder
study or greater mental and vocal toil. That
"Julien" could not maintain its place in the
repertory was not the fault of the tenor.

After Caruso had appeared in "Carmen" in
1906, he sang seven other new roles at the
Metropolitan during the two remaining sea-
sons of Conried's regime.^ The first opera

' 1906-07

Dec. 5. — "Fedora"
Jan. 11. — "L'Africaine"
Jan. 18. — ^"Manon Lescaut"
Feb. 11.— "Madame Butterfly"
1907-08
Nov. 18. — "Adriana Lecouvreur"
Dec. 6.— "Iris"
Feb. 26. — "II Trovatore"

78 Caruso and, the Art of Singing

which was revived for him during Signer
Gatti-Casazza's administration of the Metro-
poUtan was Massenet's "Manon," February 3,
1909; and the last one was "La Juive," on
November 22, 1919. During this period of
ten years Caruso lent the prestige of his art
to thirteen roles, including "La Juive" and
"Manon." ^ Had the management not called
upon Caruso for frequent repetitions of many
of the favorite operas, no doubt he would have
added more new roles to his repertory at the

' 1908-09

Feb. 3.— "Manon"

Apr. 3. — "Cavalleria Eusticana"
1909-10

Jan. 22. — "Germania"
1910-11

Nov. 14. — "Armide"

Dec. 10.— "Faneiulla del West"
1911-12

1912-13

1913-14

Feb. 26.— "Julien"
1914-15

1915-16

Nov. 15. — "Samson et Dalila"
1916-17

Nov. 13. — "Les Pgcheurs de Perles"
1917-18

Jan. 12. — "Lodoletta"

Feb. 7.— "Le Prophete"

Mar. 14. — "L'Amore dei Tre Ee"
1918-19

Nov. 15. — "La Forza del Destino"
1919-20

Nov. 22.— "La Juive''

The Conquest of the New World 79

Metropolitan. At all events, enthusiastically
as he was received in whatever opera he made
his appearance, Caruso nevertheless continu-
ally sought to enlarge the number of roles in
his already extensive repertory. Which ac-
counts for his singing of Renaud in "Armide,"
a part that was not quite suitable for him,
although the Post praised him for his en-
deavor.

"As for Mr. Caruso," it said, "he deserves
great credit for being willing to assume a role
lying so far outside his usual sphere. His
Renaud is the fourth he has sung here in
French, the first in an opera written by a Ger-
man. It cannot be said that in appearance
he reahzed one's idea of an invincible Cru-
sader; nor did he sing his first numbers with
his usual luscious tones and fervent style. It
was not till the last act was reached that the
audience heard the real Caruso; and the real
Caruso is — well, everybody knows what he is
— ^he is Caruso. That's all."

As Des Grieux in Massenet's "Manon,"
however, Caruso was himself from the begin-
ning to the very end of the opera. He re-
created Des Grieux, and he infused into this
part, both in his singing and acting, a warmth

80 Carmo and the Art of Singing

and sincerity rarely found on the operatic
stage. All opera-goers who heard him sing
Fuyez, douce image or Un rtoe heard these
two gems of Massenet's re-created.

In his last two creations at the Metro-
politan, in "La Forza del Destino" and in
"La Juive," both operas especially revived
for Caruso, the vocal artistry and the dra-
matic utterance impressively revealed a great
singer still at the zenith of his powers. As
Don Alvaro in "La Forza del Destino," which
Caruso sang here for the first time on Novem-
ber 15, 1918, his vocal art moved so profoundly
the late James Gibbons Huneker that he
wrote in the Times the following morning:
"There is one word with which to characterize
Caruso's singing — ^glorious. That pianissimo
whisper when lying on the couch in Act III
showed us the master of artistic vocalism. A
lovely legato, and of a sweet sonorousness.
He interpreted the role as it should be inter-
preted, rbbustly. He was the impetuous sol-
dier, the ardent lover. A stirring impersona-
tion."

As Eleazer in "La Juive," Caruso achieved
a great dramatic interpretation — perhaps the

The Conquest of the New World 81

greatest of his operatic career. We have
ahready mentioned the painstaking care with
which he studied this role, so that he could
portray the character faithfully and sincerely.
And he succeeded. His make-up was a mar-
vel of imaginative conception. He did more
than merely depict an old orthodox Jew; he
discovered Eleazer's very soul. There was
characterization in every gesture and in every
inflection of the voice. Small wonder that his
impersonation was hailed as a wonderful dra-
matic and musical achievement. On the day
following the first performance (November
22, 1919), the musical critic of the Sun paid
Caruso this richly deserved tribute:

"Enrico Caruso, who began life as a lyric
tenor, aerial of tone and prone to the youthful
passions of operatic heroes, is now a full
fledged tenore robusto, battling with the
agonies of fatherhood, the subtleties of po-
litical plot, and the plangent utterances of
French recitative. . . . No one who is familiar
with the achievement of the most popular
singer of this time would expect to be told
that he met all the requirements of such a role
as Eleazer. Nor would any one of the mil-

82 Caruso and the Art of Singing

lion devoted admirers of his voice care. . . .
Therefore he commands the respect and ad-
miration of all who regard operatic creations
as of more import in art than their inter-
preters, for he has again and again shown him-
self a sincere seeker after genuine dramatic
results. His Julien, his Renaud in 'Armide,'
and his John of Leyden in 'The Prophet'
brought him honor, and his Eleazer in 'La
Juive' will be remembered as one of his high-
est flights.

"He conceived the part in earnest study and
he sang and acted with an art as far removed
as possible from that of his more familiar Ital-
ian roles. There was dignity in his declama-
tion and beauty in his cantilena. His chanting in
the second act was a lyric utterance of exqui-
site character, while his delivery of the pealing
air of the fourth act might have excited the
envy of Nourrit himself.

"The revival of 'La Juive' was worth while,
if only to add this impersonation to Mr. Ca-
ruso's successes; and if the opera retains a
hold on the public interest it will owe most of
its fortune to the artistic effort of the famous
tenor."

The Conquest of the New World 83

On March 22, 1919, Enrico Caruso sang at
a special gala performance at the Metro-
politan Opera House, celebrating the twenty-
fifth year of his career, the proceeds of the
performance going to the Metropolitan Opera
Company Emergency Fund. At this silver
jubilee celebration the Mayor and other
prominent New Yorkers paid tribute to Ca-
ruso's artistic achievements. By way of
tokens of gratitude, Caruso received a testi-
monial of recognition on an illuminated parch-
ment from thirty-five families holding boxes
in the "Golden Horseshoe," a great gold
medal from the management, an American
flag from the City of New York, and numer-
ous gifts from his colleagues.

During eighteen years in all, one might say
up to the very day of his death — for he had
arranged with Signor Gatti-Casazza to return
for the season of 1921-1922 only a few days
before he sailed for Italy in May, 1921 —
Enrico Caruso was the tenore assoluto of the
Metropolitan Opera House. Though on sev-
eral occasions legitimate alarm had been felt
about the condition of his throat, his suprem-
acy was uncontested to the last, and he died

84 Caruso and the Art of Singing

as he had lived, the unchallenged holder of the
leadership he had so deservedly won.

The full and free mastery of so many dif-
ferent roles naturally prompted the question,
often asked Caruso, as to which he liked best.
He always denied a preference: "I have no
favorite roles," he said, "and I think no real
artist should have them. The singer who se-
lects roles of a certain type and kind, and
wants to sing no others, is not a great artist.
He is a specialist."

As has been the case with some of the great-
est artists, Caruso, though he may not have
suffered from "stage fright" in the ordinary
sense of the word, was usually intensely nerv-
ous, "keyed up," before his performance. He
often spoke of being "scared to death," and
of feeling unable to sing until he had reached
his dressing room and donned his costume.
(Before appearing on the stage he would
vocalize for about five minutes.) On one oc-
casion he even exclaimed: "Whenever I sing
I feel as if some one were waiting to seize my
position, to destroy Caruso! And I must
fight to hold my oAvn,"

Speaking of a performance of "La Juive"

The Conquest of the New World 85

in Brooklyn, he declared: "The moment I
appeared on the stage and beheld the audi-
ence, among them Bonci, I realized that I had
to sing — and then a miracle happened. Some
unseen power seemed to unlock the compart-
ment within me which holds my voice and I
sang. I sang with all the power within me.
You see, we artists must struggle desperately
to get to the top, and once there, we must hold
on with all the strength we have. For once
we slip, the journey down is fast. Yet, once
in the proper atmosphere, my voice appears,
and then it is up to me to make the most
of it."

With the exception of a few more or less
private engagements, Caruso, contrary to the
usual custom of opera singers, for a long time
refused to appear on the concert stage. It
was not until May, 1917, that he consented to
"try" a few concerts. The Cincinnati Sym-
phony Orchestra was engaged, and concerts
in Cincinnati, Toledo, and Pittsburgh were
triumphantly successful. Thereafter he made
concert tours in 1918, 1919, and 1920, visit-
ing a number of American cities; and in the
fall of 1920 his most extensive tour took him

86 Caruso and the Art of Singing

as far west as Denver. This tour opened in
the Montreal Arena, on September 28, where
he sang to an audience of over seven thousand
people, and estabhshed what is considered the
world's record for concert receipts in a single
night, a total of $28,700.

Despite his great and abiding popularity,
and the fact that whenever he came before an
audience he gave it his best, Caruso had few
illusions. He knew that the great public is
fickle, and that the most sincere and beautiful
work of an artist, especially if that artist, like
himself, be placed on a lonely pinnacle of
fame, does not always receive due acknowl-
edgment. He never tired of work, however,
and he always attributed his great achieve-
ments to his imtiring industry.

Only a few months before his death Caruso
epitomized his own rules of success: "Success
is due to real work along one's natural call-
ing. Work, work, and stiU more work, makes
the fine singer. Laziness in preparatory work
makes the failure."

Caruso the Man

Chaptee V
CARUSO THE MAN

The "oflp-stage" personality of Caruso, his
richly human character with its inherent manly
qualities, was such as to endear him to all who
came in contact with him. For his musical
and artistic temper went hand in hand with an
accessibility to every generous emotion — a
natural, normal capacity for enjoyment in his
family life and in the company of his numer-
ous friends.

Two sons, Rodolfo and Enrico — of whom
the first served as a soldier in the Italian army
dvu-ing the Great War — ^had been born to
Caruso of his union with Ada Ciachetti, a
singer associated with him in opera at Treviso
and Bologna. This vmion was, however, not
a happy one. In August, 1918, Caruso mar-
ried Miss Dorothy Park Benjamin, the daugh-
ter of a well-known New York lawyer, and
in this marriage — ^his little daughter Gloria,
whom he idolized, was born about a year later

89

90 Caruso and the Art of Singing

— he found the happiness previously denied
him.

During his eighteen years in this country
Caruso had .become not only thoroughly
Americanized, but a representative and very
popular figure in American life, especially in
the life of New York City. America had
whole-heartedly accepted him as her own.
Whenever he appeared in public every eye was
fixed on him. Crowds beset him on the streets,
in railway stations, in the lobbies of theaters,
in fact whenever he appeared outside his
rooms in the Hotel Kiiickerbocker, where he
lived until that hostelry — ^much to his regret —
was converted into an ofiice building and he
took up his residence in the Hotel Vander-
bilt. His summers, save when engagements
or the War precluded, he usually spent in his
beautiful Villa Bellosguardo, at Lastra-Signa,
a village near Florence. But the greater part
of his time was spent in New York, and it was
New York that was most intimately associated
with his public and domestic life from the
night of his successful debut, in 1903, at the
Metropolitan Opera House.

By 1919 he had become so thorough a New

Caruso the Man 91

Yorker that he accepted with pleasure an hon-
orary appointment as Captain in the New
York Police Reserve, bought himself a fine
tailor-made uniform, and proudly displayed
the gold badge of authority on his chest. He
declared that none of the medals bestowed on
him in the past gave him the thrill his police
badge did, and that he felt irresistibly in-
clined to go straight over to the Metropolitan
Opera House and arrest some one, any one,
by way of showing his authority.

Notable is the fact that he was as popular
with his colleagues, the other artists at the
Opera House, as he was with the world at
large. He was, in fact, more than popular
with them — ^he was genuinely beloved; and
affection in an institution where artistic bick-
erings and jealousies, though usually withheld
from the pubhc, are none the less frequent, is
a convincing testimonial to one's qualities as
a human being. Caruso's position, to be sure,
was a unique one ; yet it is not always the artist
who stands on the highest rung of the ladder
of fame who is most willing to aid his lesser
colleague.

From solo singers to the "supers" who

92 Caruso <md the Art of Singing

helped carry him in the palanquin in which
he entered in "Aida," and who took care never
to "dump" him upon the stage, all knew him
as a self-sacrificing, amiable friend, and his
greatest joy was to help young beginners out
of their difficulties. In one performance of
"Rigoletto," when a small, delicate Gilda was
appearing for the first time and in her excite-
ment could develop no more than a trembling
soft tone, Caruso, as her partner in the duet,
toned down his own voice to suit the girl's
lesser tonal fulness and thus restored her con-
fidence, refusing to take advantage of her mo-
mentary lack of a bigger volimie of tone.
Incidents of this kind were nimierous in his
career.

The humorous outbreaks in which he was
accustomed to indulge when he received a cur-
tain call at the close of an act, and which have
been censured by those who were ignorant of
what really called them forth, were in reality
no more than the expression of his overpower-
ing relief at having once more trivmiphed over,
the initial doubts and artistic nervousness
which preceded his every pubKc appearance.

It was his custom after the Christmas per-

Caruso the Man 93

formance at the Metropolitan to play Santa
Claus, passing out gold pieces from a large
pouch to all members of the company and to
every one connected with th!e stage. Though
in physical agony at the last performance he
ever gave — "La Juive" on Christmas Eve of
1920 — and though in his efforts to sing on the
stage he had burst the plaster bands with
which his chest had been tightly wrapped, he
did not forget his old custom, but at the first
opportunity, sick as he was, began passing out
his gold pieces as usual.

His generosity was unparalleled, as is
proved by the estate he left, small in propor-
tion to his immense earnings. No deserving
appeal left him cold. He gave, and gave and
gave unweariedly, wherever he felt that he
was alleviating misery, aiding an artist in his
struggle to chmb the heights, or even merely
bringing a little happiness into lives ordi-
narily drab and colorless. He was the first
to put his name, and always for a sizable
sum, to any contribution list which reached
him at the Opera or elsewhere. He was al-
ways ready to sing at a benefit concert for any

94 Caruso amd the Art of Singing

worthy cause, and was liberal in his services
for patriotic objects during the War.

One night a wigmaker was at work in his
dressing-room at the Opera, and saw Caruso
take a roll of bills from his pocket and throw
it on the table while he changed his costume.

"I wish I had one of those," said the man
wistfully.

"What would you do with it if you had?"
asked the tenor.

"Well," said the wigmaker, "I'd take my
wife on a trip to see her mother."

"Here's one," said Caruso, as he peeled a
$500 bill from the roll and handed it to the
man.

> His heart was as big as his voice. No more
sincere tribute to his personal qualities could
be adduced than that paid him by Edward
Siedle, technical director of the Metropolitan
Opera House Company. "Speaking for the
people behind the scenes, the electricians, the
scene shifters, the stage hands, property men,
costumers and doormen, he was the embodi-
ment of kindness, good humor and friendli-
ness. . . . Even the least of the workmen felt
his kindness. As he passed each one there was

Caruso the Man 95

always a salutation — ^no commonness, no loss
of personal dignity — just friendly good fel-
lowship. ... I could tell you incidents with-
out number of cases where Caruso stepped
into the breach and helped needy persons.
... In all the years he was here I can re-
member no unpleasant incident for which he
was responsible."

If his generous charity might be called the
first of his hobbies, his others were by no
means unworthy of the great artist. For cari-
cature, the drawing of cartoons, he had a
veritable passion. He drew at his luncheon
table at the Hotel Knickerbocker, limning the
faces of others in the room ; he sketched behind
the scenes at the Metropolitan, or among his
friends, or when he was being interviewed; he
had pencil and paper at hand on all occasions.
He prided himself as much on his skill as a
caricaturist as he did on his singing. And
the collection of his caricatures, published in
1914, shows that he was justified in that pride.

It has been said, indeed, that had Caruso
given up his operatic career and devoted his
life to drawing caricatures, he would have be-
come just as great a world figm-e in the other

96 Caruso mid the Art of Singing

art. To the close student of Caruso's work as
a caricaturist this statement will appear far
from extravagant. For there are few artists
practicing caricature who can equal Caruso,
and still fewer who are his superiors. The re-
markable quality in Caruso's draftsmanship
was his capacity to make every line so sig-
nificant that it revealed a specific trait of the
person he was depicting. There are many
moods expressed in the numerous caricatures
he left, and some of his sketches are bitingly
satirical; but as a rule Caruso stressed the
broad, human side of his subjects. By far the
greatest number of his drawings concern them-
selves with the comic aspect of frail himianity,
and in the many humorous sketches of himself
Caruso laughed as heartily — if not more
heartily — at his own frailties as he laughed at
the frailties of his friends or of contemporary
notables in art and politics or of the anony-
mous subjects that caught his clear eye.

The character sketches Caruso drew of four
ex-presidents of the United States — Grover
Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, William H.
Taft, and Woodrow Wilson — show how com-
pletely he had grasped the salient traits of

\flp'

As CABUSO VnSTTED HiMSBW

Caruso the Man 97

each man; he was both kind and just. His
Kaiser Wilhehn is a masterpiece, and the
gruesome iron mask, the very soul of the man
back of it, is truly a stroke of genius. It is
remarkable that whomever he chose to portray
— ^whether Alfonso XIII of Spain, Nicholas
II of Russia, Edward VII of England, or
even Mohammed V, Sultan of Turkey, or
Hamed Mizza, Shah of Persia — Caruso never
failed to give us a vivid presentation, ex-
tremely different as all these personalities
were. Mere draftsmanship could never have
achieved such feats of character-drawing;
there was the same keen intelligence, the same
remarkable understanding of human nature,
directing the practiced skill of his pencil that
directed his interpretations of operatic roles.
In his drawings of his friends and of his
colleagues at the Metropolitan Opera House,
Caruso was lavish with his overbubbling
humor. Signor Gatti-Casazza must have dis-
covered many an amusing streak in his own
character, unknown to him before, when he
gazed on some of the delightful sketches Ca-
ruso made of him. Caruso's old and devoted
friend, Antonio Scotti, must frequently have

98 Caruso cund the Art of Singing

laughed as he looked at the humorous contor-
tions the great tenor put him into. Nor did
Caruso neglect the fair prima donnas of
the Metropolitan. Madame Farrar, Madame
Sembrich, Madame Alda, Madame Eames —
Caruso was very daring, indeed, when he
closed his eyes to their irresistible charms in
order to record their foibles. The conductors
are all represented, too, in that remarkable
collection of caricatures. Mahler, Campanini,
and Toscanini are caught in their most char-
acteristic moments. Nor did he neglect his
favorite composers. He made very striking
character sketches of Verdi, Saint-Saens,
Charpentier, Leoncavallo, and Mascagni.

Caruso's great skill in his avocation, then,
was overshadowed only by his greater skill in
his vocation. American newspapers were
quick, however, to see the value of Caruso's
second art, and one editor once offered him
large sums to draw exclusively for his paper.
But Caruso replied: "I make enough money
singing."

In the summer of 1920 he spent some of his
leisure in modeling a striking head of himself
as Eleazer in "La Juive," and said that it was

Caruso the Man 99

the first time in ten years that he had done
any modeling in clay. His last previous effort
in this branch of his avocation had been the
wonderful bronze caricature of himself which
he kept on his piano. Enrico Caruso was
certainly blessed by more than one fairy!

A man of many hobbies, once Caruso took
fo something he pursued it with enthusiasm.
At one time he became interested in rare old
coins, and before much water had flowed
imder bridges he was an ardent collector.
His particular interest attached itself to
ancient Roman, Italian, and American gold
coins. Within a comparatively brief period
he had succeeded in amassing a large and
valuable collection, which included many of
the rarer American gold pieces — old Cali-
fornia issues such as the 1851 California $50
octagonal gold slug, issued to commemorate
the gold craze, and the oblong Kohler Cali-
fornia $20 gold piece of 1850. When he
bought the two silver dollars called "Gloria"
and "Metrica," issued in 1897, Caruso was
delighted to find that one of them bore the
name of his little daughter.

Another hobby was composition, or perhaps

100 Carttso and the Art of Singing

• — for Caruso made no pretensions to being a
composer — ^it should be called melodic inven-
tion. He was accustomed to read a great
number of new songs with me, and going over
them we would select such as might seem
worth while studying for one purpose or
another. Sometimes he would invent a melody
himself, and he had a real gift for finding a
tuneful air of a lyric character which lent
itself easily and naturally to a good harmonic
background. Various of these songs have
been published and have won favor. He also
gave generous encouragement to those of his
friends who composed, and he had sung a song
of my own, "Soltanto a te," which I wrote
for him, a number of times in concert, and
had even made a record of it — ^which has not
as yet been issued — before his last illness.-

But the birth of his daughter Gloria cast
all his other hobbies in the shade, and even his
beloved caricatures held only a secondary in-
terest for Caruso after her advent. The
cradle songs he sang her would have earned
him thousands of dollars on the stage, for like
the artist he was, he sang as well for her at
home as for any audience at the opera.

fr'*

t3

Caruso the Man 101

Some one once said of Caruso: "The Old
World gave him fame, the New World an
income." This, of course, is not exactly true.
The New World, in particular the United
States, gave him more than anything else,
something which Caruso warmly appreciated:
it gave him sympathy, understanding, aflfec-
tion. It adopted him as one of its national
characters; it made him an American. He
came to regard the United States as his home,
and it was in New York that he gave his hos-
tages to fortune and took his chief joy in the
daughter presented to him by his American
wife. It is perhaps for these reasons, for all
that they are uncommercial, that Caruso's
European appearances tended, as the years
passed, to become more and more incidental.
It was not that he loved Europe less, possibly,
but that he loved America more.

The details of Enrico Caruso's illness, ap-
parent recovery, and unexpected death are
but too well known. On the evening of No-
vember 30, 1920, while he was singing the
role of Samson at the Metropolitan, a descend-
ing pillar of the scenes injured his head; at

102 Caruso and the Art of Singing

the "Pagliacci" performance of December 8,
he severely strained his side in his exit; on
December 12, in "L'Elisir d'Amore" at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music, he bm-st a
minor blood vessel in his throat. He spent
Sunday quietly in bed, and his condition so
improved that he sang in "La Forza del Des-
tine" at the Metropolitan on Monday night,
with wonderful virility and buoyancy of voice.
But a performance of "La Juive" on Decem-
ber 24 was his last and supreme effort.

Following two operations — his illness was
diagnosed as pleurisy — ^he seemed for a time
to be well on the road to recovery, when, on
February 16, he suffered a serious relapse.
His son, Enrico, Jr., attending a military
school in Culver, Ind., was summoned to his
bedside, oxygen was administered, and the
last rites of the Roman Church were given
him at midnight. Great throngs crowded
about the bulletin boards; wires and cables
arrived from all parts of the world; and the
President of the United States called up from
Washington on the long distance telephone to
inquire as to his condition. His will to live
triumphed, and by March 1 he was able to

Caruso the Man 103

stand a minor operation. In April he could
walk about his room without the aid of a cane,
and on May 28 he sailed for Naples for a com-
plete rest, expecting to return in the fall and
resume his work at the Metropolitan.

A week before his death at the Hotel
Vesuvius, on August 2 — ^he had been living
quietly in Naples, making short trips, and
taking sun-baths — ^he had tried his voice, and
his friends found it held all the golden melody
and sonorous power which had marked it be-
fore his illness. He had made a vow in New
York that, if he recovered his voice, he would
imdertake a pilgrimage to the shrine of the
Madonna of Pompeii, and he now felt that
the time to fulfil his vow had arrived. After
his visit to the shrine, he imprudently exam-
ined the excavations, and caught a cold which
settled in his stomach. The specialists called
to attend him found that he was suffering from
a sulbphrenic abscess accompanied by severe
peritonitis, and all their efforts to save his life
proved unavailing.

The flood of tributes and appreciations
which his death called forth in the press of
every land eloquently testified to the imique

104 Carvso and the Art of Singing

place he held in the general estimation. The
great artists who were his colleagues, his in-
timate friends, the thousands who had enjoyed
his glorious gift of song were united in a com-
mon grief. His art was international — for all
that New York considered him peculiarly her
own — and the whole world mourned an ir-
reparable loss in his passing. On the morn-
ing of August 4, a requiem mass was cele-
brated in the Church of San Francesco di
Paolo in Naples, and in the afternoon his body
was removed in solemn processional. His
obsequies were royal. Had he been able to
see through the crystal of his casket, he could
have realized the love and fidelity of his com-
patriots. The Queen of England and his
friends in New York had supplied the flowers
heaped on the hearse, which was drawn
through the streets by six horses, an aeroplane
escorting it in the skies, while cordons of sol-
diers of the Italian army paid military honors
to the cortege, and held back the immense
throngs who crowded the square. Speeches
were made by the Prefect of Naples as the
representative of the King of Italy and the
Government, and by others, and then the

i

an

^

I

I

Caruso the Man 105

hearse proceeded slowly from the Piazza del
Plebiscito to the temporary resting-place of
the body in the vault of the Canessa family,
pending the finishing of the monument, to be
executed by Cifariello, which wUl complete
the great tenor's own vault.

Caruso's voice — authentically the greatest
of its period — ^has departed, save for that
near approach to its original beauty which is
preserved in the nimierous phonograph rec-
ords he made and which will not allow it to be
forgotten — as the voices of so many other
great artists have been forgotten — even when
the generations who heard Caruso himself sing
have passed away. But the lesson of his art
remains — ^his guiding rules, his exercises, his
own precept and practice for the development
of the singing voice. As one who was for
years his friend and accompanist, one who
knew his generosity and liberality of spirit as
well as his daily routine of voice study and
development, I feel that he would be the first
to commend my present endeavor to place at
the disposal of every student of singing those
lessons which his own study of the art of song
has placed at my disposal. It would make

106 Caruso and the Art of Singing

him happy to know that others might derive
benefit from the results of his own experience,
and that the truths of voice training and voice
development which he learned as the result
of years of hard and intensive work, might
serve to lead others along the paths he him-
self trod.

The Secret of Caruso's
Great Breathing Power

Chaptek VI

THE SECRET OF CARUSO'S GREAT
BREATHING POWER

Cabuso moved the hearts of his myriad
hearers in so direct and compelling a manner
that they accepted his wonderful art as a spon-
taneous, natural outburst of song, which did
not require a directing intelligence. The vast
multitudes who listened to him were com-
pletely carried away by that luscious voice,
whose tones seemed to come from another
world; they were overpowered by an utter-
ance that ravished their ears without revealing
the effort and art" involved in its production.

Caruso, like every true artist, felt intensely.
But it was the consummate art with which he
expressed his deep feeling that enabled him
to stir his hearers as few singers have ever
done. For back of the deep feeling there
was deep reflection; his mind was always in
full control of his emotions. Even musicians
often overlooked the great role Caruso's mind
played in the development and perfecting of

109

110 Caruso and the Art of Singing

his art, although the fact is that his marvelous
voice itself was to a great extent the product
of ceaseless and untiring observation and
analysis, as well as of constant search for
means of improving his mastery of the organs
with which nature had endowed him.

There are still a few intimates who remem-
ber that Caruso began with a voice which was
by no means the miracle that for more than
a quarter of a century packed the opera
houses of New York, Buenos Aires, Havana,
and Mexico, to say nothing of occasional en-
gagements in London, Berlin, Paris, and else-
where on the Continent. The miracle to which
we are now referring is the phenomenal vocal
capacity which even the public that recog-
nized the wide scope of his song art took for
granted. It cannot be doubted, of course,
that Caruso had been provided by nature with
a remarkable vocal instrument and with a
powerful pair of bellows; nevertheless we
know from our long association with the great
artist — and Caruso himself often expressed
his own conviction of the fact — ^that it was his
genius for work which made the utmost of his
endowment both as regards the physical or-

Secret of Caruso's Breathing Power 111

gahs and those native emotional and mental
resources upon which his final artistry drew
so heavily. Work does not mean unguided
labor: nothing could be more ruinous to the
vocal organism. To the genuine artist work
can only mean intelligent direction, pains-
taking study, and infinite patience. These are
the quintessential elements in any enduring
success.

From the physiological point of view, the
larynx, the pharynx, the mouth chamber, the
nasal passages, together with the trachea
(windpipe) and lungs, form the organs of
respiration, and at the same time are called
upon for the production and perfect render-
ing of tones, thus constituting the vocal or-
gans. This machinery is to be found in every
himian body, with a conformation more or less
favorable to the production of tone; but into
Caruso's body nature had marvelously intro-
duced an amazingly equal perfection of each
of the vocal organs, with the result that no
human voice has been able to produce tones
of greater richness and poignancy. The
diameter of Caruso's larynx as a vocal organ

112 Caruso and the Art of Singing

accorded so precisely with the diameter re-
quired for its functioning as an organ of res-
piration that, while its singing function ad-
mirably served the upper ranges of his voice,
the breathing function bestowed upon him
those ample, rich, and powerful tones. The
lateral amplitude of his larynx, by permitting
a maximum dilation of the glottis, accounted
for extraordinary respiratory powers.

Enrico Caruso's unusual vocal mechanism
was certainly the medium which enabled him
to achieve his complete mastery of the diffi-
cult art of singing; without this physical en-
dowment he would not perhaps have attained
his unrivaled position in the world of pure
song. On the other hand, had Caruso failed
to use these marvelous organs correctly, in-
telligently, we can say unhesitatingly that he
would have gone the way of many another
obscure singer of strong physique blessed with
a remarkable instrument — after a brief period
in the limelight, a sudden banishment to the
land of disappointed tenors. A telling point
to recall in this connection is that among the
students of the Scuola Vergine — where Ca-
ruso received his first serious vocal training —

Secret of Caruso's Breathing Power 113

he was known as il tenore ventOj a .name that
hardly suggests richness of tone production
or grandeur of style. On the contrary it sug-
gests that Caruso's greatness was due as much
to his correct and intelligent use of his vocal
organs as to the actual possession of them.

Because Enrico Caruso knew that the
breath is the motive power of the voice, for it
is the action of the breath upon the vocal or-
gans which brings about the production of
tone — and, therefore, pitch and musical phras-
ing as well as tone production fundamentally
depend on the breath — ^he devoted a great deal
of study and thought to this the groundwork
of his art. It must not be thought, however,
that he speculated about and labored over fan-
tastic theories which promised overnight phe-
nomenal results. Caruso believed in the gos-
pel of work — not mere labor, but intelligent
work — the mainspring of enduring achieve-
ment; and he severely condemned meretricious
nostrums that purport to lead to rapid success.
He knew full well what effort and thought it
had cost him, what unsparing pains and pa-
tience, to master completely the control of his

114 Caruso and the Art of Singing

*

breath, without which all his other great gifts
or attainments would have been of no avail.

All who are interested in the art of singing
know the troubles young singers — and often
those already engaged in concert and opera
work — ^meet in their search for a correct
method of breathing. In their wanderings
from one maestro to another they are some-
times told to breathe naturally and the breath
will take care of itself. They set to work
breathing as naturally as nature will allow
them and find this "method" excellent for
their daily speech; but once they begin to sing,
a cramped feeling comes upon them, their tone
production is poor, their phrasing choppy, and
ofttimes they struggle desperately to stick to
pitch. All these troubles seem to be the re-
sult of lack of motive power, of a gasping for
breath. It is evident that their "natural
method" did not help them very considerably.

N'ow what was the secret of Caruso's great
breathing power? What method of breathing
— for we have seen that some method for man-
aging the breath is essential — did Caruso in-
voke that he should have enjoyed such ample
reserves of breath? Caruso employed (and

Secret of Caruso's Breathing Power 115

perhaps rediscovered) the method which the
great Italian masters of bel canto had taught:
he drew in, retained, and exhaled his breath
in a mode different in no way from the man-
ner always prescribed by the masters of
beautiful singing — diaphragmatic intercostal
breathing. We use the words diaphragmatic
and intercostal advisedly: in the normal hu-
man body the diaphragmatic and costal
methods of breathing are always used to-
gether, the one assisting and supplementing
the other.

During Enrico Caruso's artistic career there
were many would-be singers who besieged him
for an opinion or some advice regarding their
voice or their system of singing. I would be
called in to examine them, and hence would
hear many interesting expositions and disser-
tations, in the course of which Caruso ably
demonstrated that for a singer there can be
only one effective mode of breathing. As a
matter of fact, all these students had either
pursued a bad system of respiration, in so far
as singing is concerned, or had practiced
their system incorrectly, and consequently had
failed to obtain a long and well-regulated air

116 Caruso and the Art of Singing

pressure, without which there can be no good
tone production or vocal mastery.

Caruso always addressed those who sought
the mysterious secret of his breathing power
in some such words as these:

"I perform the act of respiration or breath-
ing just as you do, with only two movements,
namely, inspiration and expiration, which
means the drawing in and the letting out of
the breath."

Whereupon Caruso, without any stiffness,
would place his body in an erect position, with
one foot a bit in advance of the other, as if to
take a step. (It is important to note here
that his entire body was completely relaxed —
no portion of it rigid.) »Then he would
slightly contract (draw in) the muscles of the
abdomen and inhale calmly and without haste.
As a result of this deep and slow inspiration
of air, his diaphragm and ribs would expand
and his thorax (chest) rise. At this point of
the demonstration Caruso always called the
student's attention especially to the dia-
phragm, explaining that when it assumed this
position it constituted the principal agent for
sustaining the colimin of air which could be

Secret of Caruso's Breathing Power 117

held in the lungs under the pressure required

for the production of loud or soft tones.
"The second movement is exhalation."
Here Caruso would perform certain vocal

exercises, of which I reproduce below the one

most frequently used by him.

EXERCISE I

.a-^t-j

Caruso would sing aU the above exercise
during his second movement, that of expira-
tion, carefully emitting the air inhaled during
the first movement — without any straining,
but with the least possible rapidity — in the
volume required for the correct rendering of
this exercise.^ At the end of the exercise, his
thorax, diaphragm, and abdomen returned to
their original positions.

The exercise practiced by Caruso had de-
veloped the muscles of his diaphragm to such

* Exercise VI (in the chapter on tone production) illustrates
the manner in which Exercise I should be sung.

118 Caruso and the Art of Singing

a degree that he was wont to give those stu-
dents who came to him a httle. demonstration
of his power. He would have them press a
closed fist with all their strength against his
relaxed diaphragm; then suddenly, through a
voluntary contraction of his diaphragm, he
would violently fling off that pressure of the
fist.

There is one other factor, indeed highly im-
portant, which we must stress in connection
with Caruso's great hreathing power — ^the
mental factor. Caruso could inhale slowly
and steadily so ample a breath that he was able
to exhale at very great length, not only be-
cause the physiological process of expiration
is longer than that of inspiration, but also be-
cause Caruso had succeeded in adding to his
auto-physiological control the volitional con-
trol which comes from the brain. By dint of
a vigilant mental effort — ^though, always with-
out any physical strain — Caruso governed
the expiratory flow of the breath with such
mastery that not a particle of it escaped with-
out giving up its necessary equivalent in tone.
Besides, Caruso emitted for each musical
phrase, or even for each note, just enough

Secret of Caruso's Breathing Power 119

breath to produce that phrase or note mu-
sically, and no more. The remainder of his
breath he kept in reserve, which made the
enchanted hearer feel that the master was still
far from the limit of his resources, that he had
retained ample motive power for whatever the
occasion should require. That is the reveal-
ing sign of all great art and it is, in a manner
of speech, the bedrock of all great singing.

Therefore, the secret of Caruso's priceless
gift, his great capacity for respiration, al-
though partly due to the amazing perfection
of his vocal apparatus, was also, and perhaps
mainly, due to his power of concentration
upon the study of himself and of the natural
means at his disposition. This ability in Ca-
ruso — ^the power to transform every particle
of breath into tone and the power to control
the breath so that no more of it need be used
for the good production of a note or phrase
than was absolutely essential — should be the
goal of every singer. In fact, we believe we
can justly say that without this principle
there can be no great singing,

Enrico Caruso strongly advised the student,
in respiration exercises, to practice breathing

120 Caruso and the Art of Singing

through the nose and through the mouth at the
same time, although one should depend chiefly
upon inhaling through the nose, because that
is the more spontaneous and the more natural,
as well as the more effective, method. In any
case, the act of inhalation should be visible to
a spectator solely through the raising of the
thorax, and not, after the practice of many
misguided singers, through the lifting of the
shoulders. This latter movement the singer
would never be obliged to make were he to
use the intercostal diaphragmatic method of
respiration.

This method, moreover, enabled Caruso to
keep his organs of respiration sound and
armored them against all weaknesses. At the
same time, thanks to the aid of his mental con-
trol, he was never at a loss to sustain to the
end a lengthy musical phrase, was never vmder
the necessity of cutting it short or of finish-
ing it off pitch or by a forced prolongation.

The foregoing discussion should be sufficient
to demonstrate that the singer must not put
his principal dependence on any other type
of respiration — on, for instance, either the
clavicular or the abdominal. Whenever one

Secret of Caruso's Breathing Power 121

exerts himself violently he breathes violently;
as a result his collar-bone or clavicle is for-
cibly drawn up by the muscles of the neck in
order to assist the action of the intercostal
muscles, which act on the ribs. This is the
method of breathing known as the clavicular.
It is always a partial respiration; and besides
being used during very violent exertion, it is
also resorted to in certain diseased states of
the body. Furthermore, in order to succeed
in realizing its full power, one must give his
hands a firm grasp on some fixed object.
That is why the unhappy singer who resorts
to the vicious clavicular method of respiration
seeks, whenever he can, to lay hold of some-
thing solid — so violent is the effort he makes.
He is a sad spectacle indeed, his head thrown
back or thrust forward, his face flushed, his
whole body rigid, his outstretched arms beg-
ging for the breath that fails to come. Im-
agine the tone production of a singer who is
laboring vmder so great a physical strain! In
such circimastances any artistic rendering of a
musical phrase is too much to expect: the un-
fortunate performer may, thanks to his sad
plight, arouse the sympathy of his hearers;

122 Caruso amd the Art of Singing

he certainly will not move them musically hy
so painful an art.

Whenever Enrico Caruso witnessed the tor-
ture such singers inflict on themselves, though
he never failed of sympathy for the victim,
he was unequivocal in his condemnation of the
method. He would exclaim: "Why, the poor
fellow is violating the first principle of art —
the concealment of the artist's effort. Why
doesn't he learn how to breathe? It is im-
possible to sing artistically without a thorough
mastery of breath control. Why don't sing-
ers stop to think, and work intelligently?
They would soon realize that all great art is
the product of reserve, restraint; without
these, vocal technique is imperfect, and im-
perfect technique means imperfect art."

The abdominal method of breathing, or the
method that draws most of its force from the
abdominal muscles, is ineffective, both because
it constitutes a relaxation of the visceral or-
gans, and also — and this is the chief objec-
tion — because the diaphragm receives no sup-
port in the act of expiration. With the
diaphragm unsupported, it is more diflScult to
control the emission of the air from the lungs.

Secret of Caruso's Breathing Power 123

Furthermore, in relying chiefly on his ab-
dominal muscles for inspiration, the singer
cannot fill his lungs to their full capacity.

The aim in any search for a method of
breathing is twofold: first, the most effective
manner of getting the lungs completely full
of air, which is the motive power of singing;
secondly, the most effective manner of con-
trolling the emission of the air from the lungs
so that every particle shall be transformed
into tone. In both of these processes Enrico
Caruso was able to achieve phenomenal suc-
cess because he employed the intercostal dia-
phragmatic method of respiration, but it must
not be forgotten that to his sound method he
brought a high degree of mental concentra-
tion, which kept his powerful bellows under
complete control.

For the control of the breath, Caruso prac-
ticed the following exercise — rxmning the
whole chromatic scale up to C, and sometimes
up to C sharp — in one single sustained breath.

124. Caruso and the Art of Singing

EXERCISE II

These exercises as well as the others which will follow
are also useful for the purpose of increasing the agility and
flexibility of the vocal organs.

Tone Production

Chapter VII

TONE PRODUCTION

I

TONE ATTACK

In the preceding chapter we endeavored to
get at the source of Caruso's great breathing
power. We observed that, remarkable as was
the vigor of his constitution, the final secret
of his wonderful breath control lay in his in-
telligent management of his respiration. His
nianner of inhalation, to be sure, supplied him
with ample motive power; but this reservoir
of power would have been of indifferent
effect had he failed to make use of every
particle of the outgoing column of air. It
was this perfect control over the emission
of breath, so that no air should be exhaled
improductively, that enabled Caruso to attain
his unique mastery of tone production.

A good tone production, of course, must
take account of other essential elements.
There must be relaxation, for instance, a com-

127

128 Caruso and the Art of Singing

plete absence of strain of any sort. But the
one indispensable condition, the principle
which can never be disregarded without mak-
ing the tone unsatisfactory, is the rule that
the emission of the singer's breath and the
a,ttack of the tone must take place simultane-
ously. This is the first secret of a beautiful,
round, musical tone. Should the singer allow
any air to escape before he attacks the tone,
then the result will be a breathy sound, rag-
ged and disagreeable. Furthermore, once the
attack or beginning is poor, the rest of the
tone will be harsh and unpleasant, or at best
it will be veiled or cloudy.

As regards the connection between breath-
ing and tone attack, a great deal has been
written about the cupa di glotta, coup de
glotte, or stroke of the glottis. This device
may be described simply as a clucking sound
produced by the forceful contact of the air
column against the closed vocal chords. In
order to bring such a contact about, the singer
is requested to act exactly as if he were to
utter a slight cough. It is the audible stroke
of the glottis, and it is supposed to prevent
the singer from emitting air before the tone

Tone Production 129

is attacked. If by this means the singer does
succeed in controlling his breath, so that he
achieves a crisp, decisive attack, he also suc-
ceeds in producing a hard, metallic tone that
is cold and repellent. Not only is this ex-
plosive tone attack objectionable on eesthetic
grounds, but also it is in the long run injuri-
ous to the vocal organs. It is always an im-
natural method; and all essentially unnatural
methods, besides producing unnatural sounds,
tend to impair the proper functioning of the
natural organs.

Now, Caruso had a perfect tone attack. In
his ravishing outpour of song all the tones,
clean and clear at their inception, continued
mellow and rich, coming forth from his glori-
ous instrument with a warm and captivating
glow. If he made use of this famous stroke
of the glottis, he certainly employed it in a
modified form and in the most moderate man-
ner, taking pains in all cantilena singing to
avoid the unnatural explosive effect which does
much to destroy the appealing quality of a
tone. Here again we may say without hesi-
tance that Caruso obtained his superb results
in the matter of tone attack through his

130 Caruso cmd the Art of Singing

habitual perseverance in the method of intel-
ligent experimentation and study. He was
almost unmercifully critical of himself, per-
petually on the watch for possible flaws; nor
was he ever satisfied with his work until his
exacting ear had given him its approval.

In his tone attack Caruso succeeded in co-
ordinating into one act the flying together of
the vocal chords and the emission of the
breath. The two movements coincided so pre-
cisely that there was never any effort, any
strain or forcing back of this act. He breathed
with great ease, and he strove to produce his
tones with the same ease. It is a skiU which
is extremely difficult to achieve; but this way
lies the road of great singing.

It must not be thought that we are attempt-
ing to set down rigid rules, drawn from Ca-
ruso's art and so codified that they may be
servilely followed by everybody. Caruso,
there is no doubting, would have been the first
to condemn strongly such a procedure. He
always contended that every individual is pro-
vided with a distinct vocal instrument, and
that every instrument demands and deserves
distinct and intelligent care in its cultivation.

Tone Production 131

The great tenor was much too genuine an
artist to let himself be hampered by the dog-
matic precepts formulated by theorists, many
of whom, unfortunately, know little of the
singer's art. He had no use at all for vague
and incomprehensible theories. In fact, so in-
dividual a matter did Caruso consider his art
that he would often question the value of any
method that seemed too generally applied.
The singer, like every other artist, must take
for his first and foremost study his own
vehicle of expression — ^the vocal organs na-
ture has provided him with — and thus essay
to discover what are his proper vocal resources,
Caruso did exactly this. He studied his vocal
apparatus, his vocal capacity, and his tem-
perament; these he sought to develop to their
full power and utmost perfection. At the
same time he took infinite care — and in this
fact very probably lies the fundamental secret
of Caruso's art — not to abuse, by any sort of
strain or forcing, the gifts nature had be-
stowed on him.

We know that Caruso, even in his great
moments, never forced his breath in an effort
to gain more power. It is equally true of his

132 Caruso and the Art of Singing

tone production. How to turn all of the mo-
tive power of his breath into pure tone with-
out straining his vocal organs — ^that was the
quintessential problem for Caruso. And here
again he had recourse to his thorough knowl-
edge of his vocal instrimient, a hard won
knowledge which was at once so detailed and
so precise that it enabled him to achieve a tone
control adequate to render all the gradations,
inflections, and nuances of which the human
voice is capable.

II

TONE FORMATION

On the subject of the natural means which
aid and favor a good emission of tone, Caruso
expressed himself as follows:

"For a good production of tone there are
two elements to be considered; the first ele-
ment is internal, the second external. The
internal element concerns the muscles of the
throat, which act in sympathy with the facial
muscles; the external concerns the position
which our body assumes while the tone is being
emitted. It is necessary, therefore, through

Tone Production 133

the aid of self -study and the help of a good
singing teacher, to become aware of every
physical defect — such as contractions of the
muscles of the throat, of the face, or of the
jaw — ^which can hinder the tone from being
emitted in all its fullness and purity. These
rigid muscular contractions bring about a
throaty tone, which lacks support and is in-
capable of purity and ampUtude.

"In the second place, one must take into
consideration the defects which are external
and consequently visible. A discomposed
movement of the body, an exaggerated rais-
ing of the head while singing, or a too studied
position of the chest will always interfere with
the free emission of the tone, especially in a
student whose self-mastery is still limited.

"The singer should apply himself to his
study with great naturalness and relaxation:
this is the sine qua non of beautiful cantilena
singing. When he is exercising his voice he
must not disturb the composure of his face,
because every contraction of the face is re-
flected in the throat. A contracted face indi-
cates a lack of composure; whereas it is essen-
tial that the singer should bring to his vocal

134i Caruso and the Art of Singing

study a complete calmness. Unless he is
calm, how can he hope to control his will?
Moreover, a calm mind facilitates the task of
completely relaxing the vocal organs."

It is evident that in making these remarks
Caruso had in mind the practicing of vocalizzi,
or vocahzes as they are called in English —
exercises or passages to be vocalized. And
there is no more valuable practice for begin-
ners or even for singers already a good way
along the road of vocal art. By vocalization
is meant singing upon vov/els and not upon
words — ^whether upon one or more vowels or
upon one or a series of notes, does not matter.
It is only one part of the operation of utter-
ance, for it does not involve articulation.
Now, pure vocalization is obtained by bring-
ing into play those muscles of the vocal or-
ganism — and no others — ^which are essential
to the production of the vowel at the moment
being sung. Though the action of the unnec-
essary muscles might not destroy the actual
vowel sound, it would destroy the possibility
of good tone production — ^the quality of the
tone thus emitted is usually "throaty" or
"veiled." All this evil the misguided singer

Tone Production 135

brings down on his head the moment he at-
tempts to gain power by forcing or straining
his vocal organs. This evil is by no means
peculiarly characteristic of poor singers; poor
pianists and poor violinists also frequently
attempt to strain and force their resources in
an effort to gain more power than nature has
put at their disposal. For them, however, the
pernicious procedure is not so dangerous ; they
can be corrected by a good master before any
real harm has been visited upon their fingers
or their wrists. It is not so with the singer.
The vocal organism is too delicate an instru-
ment to endure a great deal of strain or forc-
ing, and the penalty for even a little abuse
of this kind is a "cracked" voice.

Caruso, then, did not force his tone produc-
tion, as tenors unfortunately are wont to do;
as a consequence he emitted tones that were
always pure and of a harmonious and com-
pelling beauty. So much for his production
of single tones. When he vocalized on a pas-
sage or on a series of tones, whether at a slow
or a rapid tempo, he always sought to do it
with the same ease with which he emitted
one tone. In progressing from one tone to

136 Caruso and the Art of Singing

another he did not change the sound of the
vowel sung or the quality of the production.
At the same time he permitted none of his
breath to escape unproductively, that is, be-
tween one tone and the other, — ^the secret of
pure legato singing.

The factors which enter into the production
of a tone vary according to its pitch, its in-
tensity — ^that is to say, its volume — or its
timbre. Some of these factors, of course, the
singer consciously manipulates and controls:
they have to do with such matters as the air-
blast, the position of the head and of the
tongue, the shaping of the mouth, and so on.
But there are other factors — as, notably, the
tension and relaxation of the vocal chords in
the regulation of pitch — ^which are brought
into play unconsciously and can be guided by
nothing except the singer's tone perception.

By pitch is meant the degree of acuteness
or of graveness in a tone, the degree being
determined by the number of vibrations (per
second) that produce it; the greater the num-
ber of vibrations the higher the pitch of the
tone, the fewer the number of vibrations the

Tone Production 137

lower the pitch of the tone. It is of primal
importance for the singer, as for all musicians,
that he have a keen perception of pitch. In-
deed, this faculty, which is customarily re-
ferred to as his "ear," is almost a separate
sense; for it is in very large measure innate,
a natural endowment which, like the memory,
can be cultivated but cannot be created where
there is no instinctive foundation upon which
to build. If it can be cultivated, however, it
can also be ruined. Slovenly practice has
blunted the ear of many a student and has
rapidly taken from him whatever natural per-
ception of pitch he may originally have had.
It is therefore essential that he practice slowly
and with great care, so that he may give his
special attention to the precision in pitch of
his tones. They may be as heavenly as the
himian voice can make them, but let their pitch
be faulty and they will be unbearable.

The homogeneous fixity of Caruso's vocal
tones was truly marvelous. The vibrations of
each tone he emitted continued uninterrupted
and unaltered throughout its entire duration
and suffered no perceptible disturbance from
secondary soimds. Caruso possessed a fine

138 Carmo and the Art of Singing

ear, and his pitch perception was unusually
keen. We cannot recall a single occasion
when his intonation was not absolutely pure.
There were times when, owing to some indis-
position, his voice was "off color," when his
tones failed to come forth with their usual
magical beauty of quality; but there was never
a time when they were off pitch.

For his precision of intonation he could,
once more, bestow part of his thanks on his
remarkable breath control, since breathing is
naturally a great factor in the regulation of
pitch; but however accurate the ear with which
he began, and however great the assistance
given by his breath control, it was the infinite
pains and care with which Caruso practiced
that made him the master of pitch as it made
him the master of the other phases of the vocal
art. There can be no art without talent, but
it is intelligent, painstaking, and persevering
practice that makes perfect art.

EXERCISE III

Tone Production 139

Caruso at times used the above exercise for
the perfecting of precision of pitch. It is also
excellent for the blending of the vowels and
the mastery of the breath control.

The intensity of a tone is the power or
energy with which it is produced. Intensity
is the basis of nuance and dynamics in vocal
art; without it, singing becomes deadly mo-
notonous and ceases to be an art. Accord-
ingly it is of vital importance for the singer
to comprehend thoroughly what regulates the
various degrees of intensity in a tone. Here
again the principal part is played by the mo-
tive power, the column of air which is supplied
by the limgs. The singer can scarcely aspire
to control the intensity of his tone unless he
has learned how to control his breath. And
by the same sign, in order to develop the in-
tensity of his tone, he must develop his breath
power. The singer can never escape from the
motor of the vocal artist — the breath.

It is at once most interesting and most en-
couraging to know how gradual was the de-
velopment of Caruso's vocal organs. His first
serious teacher, Guglielmo Vergine, though

140 Caruso and, the Art of Singing

he recognized that Caruso possessed a fine
instrument, never suspected to what a richness
and power this voice, which was then rather
thin, could finally be developed. We have
already taken note of the fact that the stu-
dents of Vergine looked upon their fellow
pupil as a tenore vento — a thin, reedy tenor.
So we must recognize as irresistible the natu-
ral conclusion that Caruso's development, even
though it enjoyed the initial advantage of the
very exceptional anatomic quahties of his
vocal organs, attained its ultimate perfection
through the practice of vocal exercises under
the guidance of a wise system. Moreover, it
should be noted that in Caruso's case the de-
velopment of intensity was constant and pro-
gressive: starting as a tenore vento, he re-
vealed himself, first as a lyric tenor, and then
as a dramatic tenor — and a real one. We say
a real one because, unlike innumerable singers
who are possessed by the dramatic ambition,
Caruso had the ability to attain his ambition,
not only through his method of interpretation
but also through the genuine energy and
power of the vocal resources he had built up.

Tone Production

141

The following two exercises Caruso used for
developing the intensity of tone production.

EXERCISE IV

EXERCISE V

After pitch and intensity we have to con-
sider, as the third element in tone production,
the matter of timbre. Timbre is the quality
of the tone produced.

If Buffon was at all justified in his cele-
brated phrase, that style is the man himself,
we may say that timbre is the singer himself.
Of vocal artists, in particular, is it true that
the quahty of the tone each makes is the
quality of the artist; for there is nothing in
which singers differ so widely from one an-
other as in the quality of their voices.

At first glance this looks surprising. Other
musicians employ widely varying techniques

142 Caruso and the Art of Singing

to draw their characteristic tones from their
instruments which may be good, bad, or in-
different in their manufacture. One would
expect to find violinists, pianists, or even per-
formers on such standardized instruments as
those of the tympani family producing a
greater gamut of timbres than are possible
to singers, who make their tones inside them-
selves. Here the basis of tone quality, far
from being a matter of skillful or clumsy
manufacture of instrimients out of a profu-
sion of fine or coarse materials, is at bottom
a physical condition. Vocal tone must depend
considerably on the general vocal organism
with which nature has provided the singer.
The anatomical cause for varying timbre in
the voice is merely the varying adaptation of
the position of the resonance cavities to the
functions of the glottis.

A violin may be a Cremona, a Stradivarius,
or the machine turned, varnish-laden child of
a furniture factory consecrated to nothing
finer than quantity production; a piano may
be built by artists for the fingers of a master
or assembled by day laborers for the instala-
tion of a mechanical player; but human beings

Tone Production 143

are human beings, and throats are throats.
This fact would seem, at first glance, to set
narrower limits to the range of vocal timbres.

Yet we know the reverse to be the case.
Voices differ as no hand-made instruments
can. And not only is there a variety of the
comparatively simple physical instruments na-
ture bestows on singers, but it is also true that
artistic control and wise manipulation of the
vocal resonators can alter the tone quality or
color of a given voice by such fine gradations
as to make it almost a series of instruments.

Caruso, for instance, was able to bring those
resonant vocal organs from which issued his
extensive, rich, and powerful voice so com-
pletely under the control of his will that the
slightest modification in the movement of his
lips and cheeks, accompanying the swiftest
transition in the emotions and passions repre-
sented, gave him tones of infinite color and
of inexhaustible, of ever-renascent melodious
beauty. This is the way in which the vocal
artist makes the timbre of his voice the
vehicle for his musical personality. The man
is the voice, but he is more than the vocal in-

144 Caruso and the Art of Singing

strument he received at birth: he is the master
of all his vocal resources.

We can only speculate as to what another
singer — ^less intelligent, less self-critical, less
persevering — ^might have made of Caruso's
natal equipment: what we can know beyond
cavil is that it was Caruso's mastery of this
equipment which produced tone colors so
finely wrought, and spread over so wide a
range of delicate nuances, that he was unex-
celled, and became unique, in the world of
song. This is the real reason why his voice
continues to survive, as if in the spirit, within
the minds of all who heard it, although his
physical instrument has been silenced forever.

Ill

REGISTEBS OF THE VOICE

Speaking generally, the nomenclature em-
ployed in the vocal art is so vague as to be
inadequate for exact denotation. A good part
of the vagueness rises from a certain habit of
naming vocal divisions on subjective rather
than objective grounds, or rather, of deter-
mining class names by physical sensations

T&ne Production 145

more or less peculiar to the namer. We now
approach a problem where this observation is
particularly pertinent — the complex questions
of the registers of the voice.

The register of a voice is its compass. Va-
rious singing masters and singers have vari-
ously divided the vocal compass into sections
representing, or purporting to represent, the
different registers which demand different
physical methods for their execution. To a
very large degree, however, these systems of
division have been theoretical and inexact, for
the reason that nearly all of them have been
based on the theorists' own physical sensations
without due regard to the actual facts. Such
arbitrary systems are not redeemed by the fact
that they are always more or less supported
by vague physiological hypotheses.

Nevertheless, the question of registers is of
utmost importance to the singer, for, since it
involves the problem of equalizing the voice,
it must be intimately connected with tone pro-
duction. One higTily signifleant fact most of
the theorists, obsessed as they have been by
their fanciful notions, have failed to imder-
stand. Whether there are two, three, five, or

146 Caruso and the Art of Singing

seven registers ; whether the artist sings in the
lower, middle, or upper range of his vocal
compass; he must needs bear in mind one all-
important principle: his tone production must
be sound throughout, and every note he sings
must be beautiful. Let the singer take heed
to apply intelligently the principles that make
for good tone production and the question of
registers will afford him little worry.

Caruso never let the complicated and thank-
less matter of registers disturb him. He knew
that there was only one vital goal to strive for
— ^the production of beautiful tones. On this
goal he focused all his musical intelligence;
toward it he concentrated all his mental and
spiritual energy.

It is strange indeed that so many moderns
should have gone astray in this matter of
registers. The early Italian singing masters
had already penetrated the subject with ad-
mirable insight. Those old masters had the
good sense to keep in plain view the one sig-
nificant object — ^beautiful singing. They did
not put the cart before the horse by theoiuzing
before they experimented. They did not force
arbitrary, preconceived notions on their pu-

Tone Production 147

pils. On the contrary, they were guided in
their formulating of vocal principles by the
achievements of the great vocal artists of their
time.

The singing masters of the past recognized
two registers, which they described as voce
plena and voce finta — that is full voice and
feigned {artificial, disguised) voice. These
are the two registers which are at present so
often described as "chest voice" (or "chest
tones") and "head voice" (or "head tones").
The head tones are also sometimes referred
to as "falsetto tones." The so-called "chest
tones" are often subdivided, for the sake of
convenience, into "lower" and "mediimi" reg-
isters. Any further classification of registers,
whatever its appeal to the theorist, can be of
no practical benefit to the student, and it can
easily confuse him at a time when his whole
attention should be concentrated on tone pro-
duction, to the exclusion of scientific, and
pseudo-scientific divisions of the scale.

If the behavior of the singer's vocal mem-
branes knows any change at all throughout
the entire range of his voice, it takes place
when he passes from the chest register to that

148 Caruso and the "Art of Sinsfing

of the head. In the ease of the voice that has
been badly trained, or has not been trained
at all, the change in the physical process of
tone production is invariably accompanied by
a sensation of straining and of tension in the
larynx and its adjacent parts. The real
singer, the one who has had a good schooling,
is revealed precisely by the evenness and
f aciUty with which he passes from one register
to the other. Once more the vocal artist must
remember that he does not sing with his
throat but through it; that tone is produced
by the breath, the vocal motor, as it comes into
contact with the vocal chords; and that the
other vocal organs, acting as resonators,
merely vary the quality of the tone. Careful
breath control, the due qua non of beautiful
singing, will help him considerably over the
thorny road of equalizing his entire vocal
range.

When the tones are fed and properly sup-
ported by a column of air under complete con-
trol; and, furthermore, when due precaution
is taken that there be no strain or forcing in
the production; then the voice attains through-
out its range a beautiful equality which all

Tone Production 149

but makes even the theorizing listener forget
the very existence of his precious registers.
In this respect Caruso had so thorough and
artistic a command of voice, so perfect an
equalization from one extremity to the other
of his tremendous vocal compass, that all the
problems surrounding the dispute about the
registers were conspicuous only in their sig-
nificant absence. Yet it must never be
thought that Caruso's apparent ease, the
seemingly natural perfection of his produc-
tion, was arrived at by a short cut, or over no
road at all. The laissez-faire method in voice
culture was anathema to him, and we have
long since seen the overwhelming evidence
that he was led to his shining success in the
vocal art by a guiding intelligence which never
relaxed its alertness throughout his long
career. What, then, was the secret of that
smooth and even production, so suave in its
perfection and so natural in its execution that
the listener was always tempted to think it
miraculous? The best answer is in his own
words.

"The vocal range of a singer," Caruso
would say, "must be built up by degrees and

150 Caruso and the Art of Singing

with infinite care. The purity and ease of
production in the upper range depend to a
great extent on the manner in which the
lower tones leading up to it are sung. If the
lower tones are produced correctly, and an
even poise is maintained in ascending the scale
the higher tones will benefit by the support
of the lower ones — especially by keeping the
throat well open — and thus avoid the pinch-
ing quahty often present in the highest tones
of a singer's range."

Nor was Caruso ever an advocate of the
thread-like tone, unsupported by plenty of
breath and taken with the so-called "head
voice." It is not only cold and colorless, but
it destroys equalization. Even his falsetto
tones, which he seldom used, were supported
by suflBcient breath, which gave them body
and made them sound like mezza voce tones.
Here was another important contribution to
the remarkable homogeneity of his entire
range.

As we have said in an earlier paragraph,
Caruso's art consisted of far more than his
wonderful instrument; his great industry,
which he always applied intelligently, con-

Tone Production 151

tributed its large share to make him the fore-
most vocal artist of his time. And to no phase
of his art did he devote more attention than
to the equalization of the voice. One of the
means toward attaining the perfection he
sought and achieved in the equalization of the
voice was long practice of the following exer-
cises in vocalizing. A (ah) should be quite
open, with the mouth extended in a horizontal
oval; and the exercise should be sung with
great naturalness and abandon. Gradually,
as Caruso reached the upper range, the open
vowel A would insensibly merge into the
vowel O, which continued steadily to become
darker in color, or rather to change into the
vowel U (oo), precisely as is here graphically
set down:

EXERCISE VI

152 Cariiso and the Art of Singing

EXERCISE VI =

EXERCISE VI"

EXERCISE VI'

EXERCISE VI"

' UJ" II I — g

EXERCISE VI*

Tone Production 153

EXERCISE VI'

EXERCISE VI"^

EXERCISE VI'

EXERCISE VII

EXERCISE VII"

154 Caruso and the Art of Singing

Here we must direct the attention of the
student to the correct manner of practicing
these exercises, reminding him that Caruso
said, "with complete abandon of the throat."
The gradual blending of the vowels A, O, U
should therefore take place without any
change in the position of the throat during
the whole time required for their emission.'^

' See Chapter IX ("Caruso and the Foundation of Vocal
Technique") for further details on the pronunciation of the
vowels.

How Caruso Practiced

Chapter VIII
HOW CARUSO PRACTICED

When I began to work with Caruso, the
opulence and splendor of his golden voice,
together with the poignancy of his masterly
art, had already conquered the vast musical
public in the capitals of Europe, as well as
the great opera audiences in America. And
yet, despite this prodigious achievement, the
world-renowned artist worked more indus-
triously than ever, coveting a greater and
greater command of his instnmaent. In fact,
there was never a moment during his brilUant
career when Caruso complacently sat back
and said, "I am satisfied." Animated by the
spirit of the sincere artist, intent on his cease-
less effort toward a finer and finer perfection,
Caruso had set up standards in vocal art —
for himself at least — so rigorous that, how-
ever great his progressive attainments, his
ideal was always in advance of even his per-
formance. He felt that the genuine artist can
never attain to perfection in his own eyes,

157

158 Carmo and the Art of Singing

and that to rest content on what his public
may regard as perfection is to die as an artist.

I dwell on this conviction of Enrico Ca-
ruso's, on his exacting attitude toward his own
art, because it is intimately connected with his
manner of practicing and his habits of work-
ing. Searching and fearless self-criticism, ac-
cording to Caruso, is an essential principle
which the vocal artist must needs accept; it is
the mainspring of iminterrupted progress; it
leads the artist to the genuine bel canto. Ca-
ruso went much further in his emphasis upon
the important principle of eifective self-
criticism. He said:

"The very talent of an artist is revealed in
his ability to detect and understand his short-
comings, and especially in his courage to ac-
knowledge their existence."

No one could have been a severer critic of
Caruso's great art than was Caruso himself.
He worked with tremendous concentration,
and his acute ear was ever to descry the slight-
est flaw in the tone production, in the quality
or the interpretation of a musical passage. It
was this infinite care, this minute attention as
well to the details as to the larger problems

How Caruso Practiced 159

which confront the vocal artist, that in due
time made Caruso the complete master of his
instrument and of all its manifold resources.

In addition to his great love for his art,
Caruso brought a magnificent high-minded-
ness and a deep sense of responsibility to his
profession. "An artist, in order to be worthy
of the place he has won for himself in the
world of song," Caruso repeatedly remarked
to me, "must continually strive for a higher
perfection. If he is content with the achieve-
ment of the moment, he either recedes, or he
is superseded by another artist of more
exalted ideals."

But to infer that Caruso derived his artistic
ideals from a struggle for place in the field
of song would be to insult the memory of a
great artist. All who had the good fortune
to be his friends know that he deeply loved
his art, that he was unsparing in his endeavors
to advance it. Not that the spirit of the
sportsman was lacking; for it was the sports-
man in Caruso that roused his ambition to hold
the supreme place among singers, a position
for which he battled with such untiring energy.
This is a very different matter from the ambi-

160 Caruso and the Art of Singing

tion which covets success for its own sake and
for its worldly emoluments. That is the win-
at-any-cost ambition which we customarily
associate with the professional sportsman, the
spirit which cultivates pull, which exploits un-
fair and irrelevant advantages, which is not
scrupulous as to the rule of the game, because
its gaze is fixed on rewards instead of on ex-
cellence. Caruso's ambition, on the other
hand, was of the sort we recognize and ap-
plaud in the amateur sportsman, whose motto
is, "May the best man win," and whose ardent
vow is, "By all that I have in me, I mean to
be that man." To such a man unearned suc-
cess must be as bitter as unrewarded excel-
lence.

Accordingly, Caruso was never a victim of
the mean temper which degrades opponents
in order to enjoy the cheap triimiphs of a
petty rivalry. It is well known that he was
generous in advice and assistance to his fellow-
artists. When he was singing with an artist
of little vocal power, he would modulate his
sonorous voice that he might not overwhelm
the less fortunate singer. On one occasion,
during a performance of "La Boheme" at the

How Caruso Practiced 161

Metropolitan, Caruso stretched this habitual
generosity to an vmprecedented degree. The
CoUine of that night was in poor voice and
wished to be replaced by another basso. The
management urged and finally persuaded him
to see it through in spite of his growing
hoarseness. By the time he had reached
Vecchia zimarra senti the unhappy basso sim-
ply could not sing a note. Caruso immedi-
ately thrust a cloak over himself and began
to sing the famous "Song of the Cloak" with
a good bass quality, to the great astonishment
of the other singers, the conductor, and those
of the audience who recognized the great tenor
through his disguise.

Caruso may have counselled some singers
to acquire methodical habits; or he may have
advised others to retire and rise at regular
hours. He may also have suggested that it is
more beneficial to practice in the morning, and
then, after a rest and some recreation, to do
some work in the afternoon. All this advice,
all counsel of a similar nature — and Caruso
generally offered it whenever it was sought —
was sound enough for the singer with an
average constitution. In fact, no vocalist can

162 Caruso and the Art of Singing

do better than lead a life of moderation, for
the fit condition of his vocal organism is en-
tirely dependent upon his physical well-being.
What Caruso had steadily in mind was that
the singer must not let his manner of living
overtax the system whence he draws the mo-
tive power for his singing.

Caruso himself, however, had no fixed hoiws
when he retired or arose. It frequently oc-
curred that he got up early the morning fol-
lowing a night on which he had simg; on the
other hand, there were times when he got up
very late, although he had not sung a note the
previous night. He possessed a temperament
which was, for some reason or other, averse
to rigid regularity. At all events, whether
the hours which Caruso reserved for work and
sleep were or were not as regular as they
should have been, he saw to it that his body
received all the necessary rest and exercise.

That Caruso was always fuU of play is
notorious ; in fact, it was his almost boyish love
of play which prevented a great many people
from understanding his real character. It was
only natural that many of his pranks, good-
natured as their victims knew them to be.

How Caruso Practiced 163

should have been misrepresented by the jeal-
ous and the envious and have finally reached
the public in such colors as made them seem
spiteful, so that they added their share to the
obstacles which prevented many who admired
Caruso the singer from xmderstanding Ca-
ruso the man. This is one of the disadvan-
tages of life in the lime-light, a handicap
familiar to all whose careers bring them
prominently before the pubhc. In Caruso's
case its injustice is evidenced by the imiversal
love, almost the idolatry, in which the great
singer was held by all who had the good luck
to know him personally.

The fact is that Caruso's sense of himaor
was as wholesome as it was keen. It afforded
him a cheerful and imfailing outlet for his
overbubbling energy, and that the energy he
invested in fun did not merely waste itself
through the safety valves of the moment is at-
tested by his remarkable caricatures. Lightly
as these were tossed off, they are so effective
in their penetration and so trenchant in their
wit that they will live long as evidence that
singing was not the only art to offer Enrico
Caruso a career. In the whole series of his

164) Caruso and the Art of Singing

caricatures, however, you will search in vain
for anything mean or ill-tempered. They bite
but they never snarl; and good nature laughs
in every line of them. The hand that dashed
them off was no doubt ready enough in prac-
tical jokes, but it was incapable of spite.

So active was Caruso, both mentally and
physically, that he could remain idle for
scarcely an instant of the entire day. He
seemed to take an interest in all that went on
about him. The pulse of life was indeed in his
veins! Although he had no precise hours set
aside for his daily vocal work, on days when
he was to sing, however, he would rise early
and carefully prepare himself, vocally and
otherwise, for the occasion.

On rising, Caruso first drank the inevitable
cup of coffee, so dear to all Italians. Then
he proceeded to spray his throat — as he laugh-
ingly said, pvlire lo strumento, to cleanse the
instrument — ^with a steam atomizer. After
thoroughly spraying his throat, he continued
with his toilette. While he was thus getting
ready for his day's work, I would be at the
piano, playing for him the score of the opera
he was to sing that night. As he heard the

How Caruso Practiced 165

score again, Caruso would hum or whistle the
passages with which he was particularly im-
pressed. When he had finally completed his
toilette, to which he devoted considerable at-
tention, he felt fresh and vigorous for the rest
of the day.

It may not be uninteresting to set down
here why Caruso wished me to play the entire
score. He was not merely the great tenor,
with a marvelous vocal organism; in his own
fashion, he was also a great musician. As a
consequence, he refused to sacrifice the en-
semble of a musical work by disproportion-
ately featuring what he himself was to sing.
Caruso possessed a fine sense of measure and
proportion, which accounts for his greatness
as an ensemble singer. If he desired to shine
individually, it was only by dint of his sterling
qualities as an artist. He never failed to
study the complete score of any opera in which
he was to sing; he had to determine for him-
self at first hand what had been the com-
poser's intention and then thoroughly assimi-
late the work. This intimate knowledge of
the scores stood him in good stead; it helped
him considerably in the development of the

166 Caruso and the Art of Singing

careful and intelligent plan without which he
would sing no role; in large measure it aided
him to make his interpretations expressive and
convincing; it contributed to the authority
and, it may almost be said, to the inevitable-
ness of his characterizations.

Caruso frequently commenced the morn-
ing's vocal work by practicing vocalizes for
about ten minutes, and this he usually did
whether or not he had a performance that day.
During those ten minutes his whole bemg was
intent on his work; his concentration was so
great that nothing seemed to escape his acute
ear.

Since the absolute control of the breath is
the basis of pure bel canto, Caruso would be-
gin with his two exercises for breath control,
those reproduced in the chapter on breath-
ing as Exercises I and II (pages 117 and
124). These vocalizes he sang in the manner
shown in Exercise VI, in the chapter on tone
production (page 151), advancing chromati-
cally up to C or C sharp. (The student, how-
ever, should not go beyond B flat or B.) For
developing the agility of the voice, Caruso
also practiced Exercises VII and VII*, using

How Caruso Practiced 167

the same vowels as Exercises VI-VI". Caruso
sang each exercise in full voice, in a single
respiration, and he saw to it that all the air
emitted from the lungs was duly transformed
into tone.

So much for breath control practice. But
breath control, tone production, and vocal
equalization are closely related; the achieve-
ment of success in one phase of vocal art is
dependent upon the successful manipulation
of the others. So Caruso used these exercises
as well as Exercises IV and V, in the chapter
on tone production (page 141 ) , for tonal color-
ing and quality. The vocalizes for volume or
intensity. Exercises IV and V, he also prac-
ticed in full voice. Caruso sang the sustained
G of Exercise IV with much power; it had
a penetrating ring; and he held it for a con-
siderable length of time. For this sustained
tone work, too, he sometimes practiced Exer-
cise III, which is excellent both for the at-
tainment of accurate pitch and the develop-
ment of equalization in the vowels.*

There was always method and plan in what-

' Before appearing on the stage, whether at the opera or at
a concert, Caruso usually sang his exercises in the following
order: (1) VI, (2) IV, (3) V, (4) II, (5) Vila.

168 Caruso and the Art of Singing

ever Caruso did; he never worked listlessly,
prompted by the desire to get through with
his routine. He had set before himself an
ideal, and he directed all his powers toward
achieving it. He infused into his exercises
the vital spirit that animated, and made sig-
nificant, the final product of his labor. Even
when he vocalized, he aimed at much more
than what is normally sought by singers,
namely, flexibiHty and power. He used the
vocalizes with such skiU and intelhgence that
they prepared his voice for the role he was
scheduled to sing that night. Was he to ap-
pear in "Rigoletto" or in "La Favorita," in
"L'Ehsir d'Amore" or in "La Boheme,"
operas which demand of the tenor dexterity
and grace, Caruso would strive to secure,
through modifying the manner of his practic-
ing, the lyric lightness and flexibility suitable
to those roles. But if he was scheduled to ap-
pear in "Samson et Dalila," in "Pagliacci,"
or in "La Juive," works in which the tenor
roles are primarily dramatic, Caruso endeav-
ored to make his manner of vocalizing fortify
his voice with the necessary power and dra-
matic ring which these roles require.

How Caruso Practiced 169

We do not mean, however, to convey the
notion that Caruso was content with the broad
classification of his roles into two groups —
lyric and dramatic. He was too subtle a vocal
artist to be content with so general a group-
ing; he went much further in his dehneations,
not only dramatically but also vocally. So
fine were the shadings Caruso drew from his
ample vocal resources that he seemed to en-
dow each of the characters he created with a
specific and individual quahty of voice. For
Rodolfo in "La Boheme" he succeeded in
finding a tonal coloring that differed in
quality from that which he created for the
Duke in "Rigoletto." Likewise, in "Sam-
son et Dalila," the vocal expressiveness and
nuances that he brought to the role of Sam-
son were unlike their parallels for the roles
of Rhadames in "Aida" or Eleazer in "La
Juive." He attuned his voice, in a manner of
speech, to the character of the music which he
was called upon to sing. In this endeavor
Caruso revealed the vital essence, the genuine
temper, that makes of the interpreting artist
a creator. With such a goal constantly before
him while he was practicing what other singers

170 Caruso and the Art of Singing

consider "mere exercises," is it any wonder
that he finally reached the utmost height in
vocal art?

From among the «details I have related
about Caruso's procedure in practicing his
vocalizes, the young vocal student must take
chief pains to remember the all-important fact
that Caruso practiced them with infinite care
and great mental concentration. His hard
work addressed itself not only to retaining the
vocal mastery which he had achieved, but also
and perhaps even more intensely to perfect-
ing what he had accomplished. So the exer-
cises which Caruso used should commend
themselves excellently to all singers who wish
to improve their breathing power, their tone
production, and the tonal quality of their
vocal mechanism. As regards voices of lower
ranges, these vocalizes can easily be made
suitable by lowering the initial notes.

I have said that Caruso usually vocalized
for about ten minutes in the morning, before
he began working on his scores. The yoimg
vocal student must not think, however, that
he is thereby advised to rush through the
vocalizes in the brief period of ten minutes.

How Caruso Practiced 171

On the contrary, it is of the utmost impor-
tance that the exercises, which Caruso used
for the purpose of vocalizing, be practiced
with earnest attention and long patience.
Special care should be bestowed on the tone
attack, which must be clean and clear, never
breathy and ragged. When he is vocalizing,
the young singer must constantly bear in
mind the suggestions offered in the chapters
on breathing and tone production. If he can-
not do this, it is much better not to practice
the exercises at all. For bad singing is ruin-
ous to the voice, whereas silence cannot hurt
the vocal organs, and is often, as a matter of
fact, beneficial. Whatever the student does,
he must never tire his voice by practicing too
long at a stretch. The vocal organism is a
delicate instrument, and it will not tolerate
abuse without showing ill effects.

Before we enter upon the discussion of Ca-
ruso's method of practicing his roles, arias,
soags (by old or modern masters), or what-
ever musical work he happened to be studying
or reviewing, we must take into consideration
at least two of the traits which were invaluable
in his art: his splendid vitality, and the con-

172 Caruso and the Art of Singing

summate ease with which he sang. For with-
out the possession of these two valuable as-
sets, Caruso could not — and most assuredly
would not — have worked so unremittingly.
He would have ruined his vocal organism.
At times, he could work as long as two hours
at a stretch without showing the least signs
of fatigue, a phenomenal procedure, indeed,
in a vocal artist. But Caruso seemed to be
indefatigable, both mentally and physically,
and he frequently ceased working only when
his rendition of the musical text satisfied him
vocally and artistically,

Caruso always sang in fuU voice, and by full
voice is meant the natural power of the vocal
organism. However, in order to save his
vocal organs, and especially when he was
learning a new role, or studying any other
musical text that was unfamiliar to him, he
sometimes whistled or hummed the vocal part
while I played the accompaniment.

A great deal has been said about the value
of humming as a vocal exercise. It may help
certain singers to develop their nasal resona-
tors, the correct use of which is extremely im-
portant for tonal coloring. On the other hand,

How Caruso Practiced 173

if the tones are made too nasal, they become
very disagreeable and worse in effect than the
colorless white tones.

Strictly speaking, Caruso never considered
humming as a vocal exercise, but rather as a
diversion. He used that form of inarticulate
vocal production either to familiarize himself
with a new musical composition or to rest his
voice. When he hummed, he produced a won-
derfully colored tone quality of ravishing
beauty, a tone resembling the timbre of a fine
violoncello. So sonorous and resonant, so
roimd and velvety, were the tones Caruso
poured out, that they could not have been sur-
passed in beauty and opulence by an expert
'cellist playing on an old Italian instrument.

Humming, if correctly practiced, however,
will develop the resonance of the voice. The
humming of most people sounds like a cater-
waul because the jaw, the lips, the tongue, and
the vocal membranes are all painfully rigid.
Of course, the vocal organs should be in the
same position for humming as for good tone
production: there should be complete relaxa-
tion of the facial muscles, the jaw, and the

174 Caruso and the Art of Singing

tongue, just as they are kept when in a state
of repose or while sleeping; the lips are to be
lightly united. Thus the tone vibrations will
neither be deadened by obstructing muscles
nor forced through the nose by the strain; in-
stead they will resonate within the nasal cavi-
ties and make the notes round and beautiful.

Suppose for a moment that Caruso had been
imable to sing without effort or strain. His
singing would not only have lacked the rich-
ness and purity of delivery which it attained,
but he could never have indulged for any
length of time in his prolonged manner of
study without seriously affecting his voice.
There were times when he refused to rest, sing-
ing a passage or phrase over and over again,
each time with another vocal modulation or
coloring, until he got the expression and
quality that satisfied his exacting musical
taste.

Once Caruso felt that he had grasped the
true musical significance of the work he was
studying, he invoked all his powers to trans-
late that significance into eloquent expression.
In this proceeding, during which there effec-

JETottJ Caruso Practiced 175

tively emerged his infinite capacity to take
pains, Caruso revealed the fact that within his
being vibrated the vital quality of sincerity —
the hallmark of the great artist.

Caruso and the Foundation
of Vocal Technique

Chaptek IX

CARUSO AND THE FOUNDATION OF VOCAL
TECHNIQUE

An interesting story is told of Caffarelli,
the wonder singer of the eighteenth century,
whose extraordinary voice and masterly art
enchanted all who heard him just as Caruso
captivated the audiences of our time with his
glorious organ and marvelous singing. When
Caffarelli presented himself before Porpora,
the greatest singing master of his time, the
Maestro agreed to teach the gifted young boy
provided he would promise to follow all the
instructions of his teacher. Young Caffarelli
gladly made the promise. Then Porpora gave
his pupil a sheet of exercises and kept him at
it uninterruptedly. The story runs that when-
ever Caffarelli complained, the Maestro re-
minded him of the promise he had made. At
the end of five or six years Porpora dismissed
his pupil with these words: "Go, my son, I
have nothing more to teach you. You are the
greatest singer in the world."

179

180 Caruso and the Art of Singing

Whether this story is false or true, we must,
of course, take it with a grain of salt. Por-
pora sent forth the. greatest singers of his
time — before Caffarelli he had produced Fari-
nelli — and he must thoroughly have under-
stood the fundamental principles of vocal art.
He knew that in order to become a great
singer it is necessary to acquire perfect mas-
tery of the vocal organism; which means a
complete command of the airblast, of tone
production, of pitch, and of the sustained as
well as of the florid style of singing. In the
vocal music of the eighteenth century the sus-
tained airs required a highly flexible voice,
and the fioriture passages and runs an organ
of great agihty. Porpora was well aware of
these facts, for he himself was a prolific com-
poser who wrote, among many other works,
at least thirty-six operas which abound with
airs of tremendous vocal difficulty.

To his teaching Porpora brought a con-
ception of singing worthy of a great master:
art begins where technique ends. This ex-
plains the sheet of exercises before which Caf-
farelli was kept hard at work for a niraiber
of years. And when the master said to his

Fowndation of Vocal Technique 181

pupil, "I have nothing more to teach you,"
very likely he was speaking from the point of
view of vocal technique. According to Por-
pora, the first aim of the singer should be to
overcome all mechanical difficulties, to create
a perfect instrument. The vocalist cannot
safely make demands upon his instrument
when it is imperfect or poorly trained. All
the soul and all the interpretative power in
the world will be of no avail to the bad singer,
for his organ will be incapable of giving artis-
tic expression to his ideas or his emotions.

This fimdamental truth about the singer's
art Caruso learnt early in his career, and
therefore, instead of relying on his naturally
beautiful organ, he directed all his efforts
toward making it a perfect instrument. Like
Porpora, Caruso also believed that art begins
only where technique ends, and that the vocal
artist must have a thorough technical founda-
tion. Only that can enable him to give ade-
quate expression to his feelings. To be siu-e,
greater demands were made upon the re-
sources of the vocalist in the past than are
usually made to-day; and this is especially
true of the opera singer. The florid style, with

182 Caruso and the Art of Singing

its runs and trills, practically does not appear
in modern operas; it is no longer employed
as a means of musical expression by the mod-
ern composer. Nor do cadenzas or fioriture
passages appear often in modern songs. But,
aside from the fact that the repertory of the
present-day singer must comprise the master-
pieces of the past, it is more than ever true
that if he wishes to be ranked as a vocal artist
of the first magnitude, it is essential that he
have the utmost vocal capacity, including the
flexibility and agility of the florid singer, in
order to be able to render perfectly the dra-
matic style in the works of modern composers.
It is a mistaken notion that the latter require
little vocal technique, that a beautiful voice
is all that is necessary. As a matter of fact,
the intervals and progressions in modern com-
positions possess difiiculties that overtax, and
in a brief period ruin, voices which lack the
necessary technical foimdation.

In setting down in this chapter the exer-
cises with which Caruso used to build up his
vocal technique, we are not offering singers a
systematic vocal method. If this were our

Foundation of Vocal Technique 183

purpose, we should simply be adding one
more collection of solfeggi to the numerous
collections already in existence. These exer-
cises are principally intended for singers who
wish to perfect their technique and for teach-
ers of singing who wish to benefit by the sug-
gestions of the greatest vocal artist of his
age and one of the greatest of all time. No
singer who practices these exercises must think
for a moment that Caruso's vocalizes are re-
produced here with any intention that they
be used as a short cut to attaining perfection.
Caruso would have abhorred the idea as down-
right imposture. There are no short cuts in
art. The ease or difficulty with which a singer
gradually masters his instrument depends en-
tirely on his aptitude or on the talent which
nature has bestowed on him.

It is amazing that singers should think it
possible in a very short time to achieve per-
fection in the difficult art of singing, whereas
violinists or pianists take it for granted that
they must work for years before they can
hope to gain even a partial conmiand of the
mechanical difficulties of the violin or the

184 Caruso and the Art of Singing

I

piano. Is it because singers do not actually
see the mechanism of the vocal organs that
they believe the human voice can be used
effectively without arduous study? There are
no tricks or secrets whereby the vocalist can
magically be turned into a great artist over-
night. Caruso was well aware of this truth, •
and he impressed it upon the minds of all
who sought his advice. If Caruso preached
anything at all, it was the gospel of work.
Misguided work, or work in the wrong direc-
tion, however, will not only be futile, but actu-
ally harmful. Singers will do well, therefore,
when they are practicing the exercises which
the great tenor habitually used, to have in
mind Caruso's suggestions on tone produc-
tion.

For the value which the singer can derive
from these vocalizes will be in proportion to
the care with which he practices them. He
must evoke all the concentration at his com-
mand, so that he may give the necessary at-
tention to the position of the body and the
head — both should be erect but relaxed — ^to
the breath control, to the tone attack, and to
the tone production. Nor must he forget to

Fovmdation of Vocal Technique 185

make sure that every tone be perfect in pitch,
for the acquirement of precision in intonation
is largely the result of careful practice.

A COLLECTION OF EXERCISES
THAT CARUSO USED

EXERCISE I

This exercise, which has already been re-
produced in the chapter on tone production
(Chapter VII), Caruso used for the purpose
of fixing the intonation and of securing a
steady flow of breath well under his control.
Like all the vocalizes which he practiced from
time to time, according to his needs at the
moment, this one may be effectively employed
for other purposes than those here indicated;
but singers will find it most excellent for the
acquirement of precision in pitch and of sta-
bility in managing the breath. It is also of
value, of course, as a preparation for sustained
legato singing. Furthermore, it is admirable
as an exercise for the blending of the vowels.
Special care and full value must be given to

186 Cartiso and the Art of Singing

the pronunciation of the vowels, for if their
roundness or natiu-al beauty is in any way
distorted by unnecessary effort, the muscles
of the throat and the mouth get strained, the
steady flow of the breath is disturbed, and, as
a consequence, the purity of the tone cannot
but be destroyed.

Caruso usually practiced this exercise, as
well as the others, in fuU voice, though there
were times when he preferred to sing them in
mezza voce; it was all a matter of what object
he had in view — ^whether he had to sing, for
example, a lyric or a dramatic role. When
he was scheduled to sing a dramatic role, he
always vocalized in full voice, and by "full
voice" is meant his natural vocal capacity.

EXERCISE II

In practicing this exercise the singer must
aim to make the vowels homogeneous through-
out the different tones: that is, while he is

Fo undation of Vocal Technique 187

progressing from one tone to another, the
vowel sung should retain the same placement
or production and the same intensity. Fur-
thermore, not only must the value of each
vowel remain the same throughout the eight
tones on which it is simg, but all the five vowels
must be alike in placement and in intensity.

EXERCISE III

There can be no beautiful singing without
a perfect tone attack. If the tone is not issued
with sureness and decision, it wUl be ragged
and breathy, with a tendency to leave the
pitch. The above exercise will aid the singer
to perfect his tone attack and will afford him
practice in the various intervals. This exer-
cise may be sung in all the keys.

EXERCISE IV

188 Caruso and the Art of Singing

EXERCISE V

EXERCISE VI

EXERCISE VII

EXERCISE VIII

Foundation of Vocal Technique 189

EXERCISE IX

EXERCISE X

,» »i^p»^^— ^ -a^ flt »

EXERCISE XI

EXERCISE XII

190 Caruso and the Art of Singing

EXERCISE XIII

EXERCISE XIV

EXERCISE XV

EXERCISE XVI

Foundation of Focal Technique 191

EXERCISE XVII

<ak — A

EXERCISE XVIII

yO/— J» . ^

EXERCISE XIX

EXERCISE XX

192 Caruso and the Art of Singing

EXERCISE XXI

The preceding eighteen vocalizes (Exer-
cises IV-XXI) Caruso practiced from time
to time in order to maintain at its high level
the remarkable agility and suppleness of his
voice. He did not always sing the exercises
consecutively as they are here set down, but
often practiced them as they occurred to him.

As they are reproduced here, the exercises
are for tenors and sopranos; but they can eas-

EXERCISE XXII

%, UJtiJtJrJ'Jr im i*** i»iririr ir

EXERCISE XXIII

^iij>MJiUUMitM:.-A-^

EXERCISE XXIV

crfJk,M,ir,iiliiK, Jr,Ar,M*.i;ia,i: i*,^!', ^

Foundation of Vocal Technique 193

ily be modified — and this applies to all the ex-
ercises of the book — for voices of lower range.
These three exercises Caruso employed to
cultivate flexibility in the jaw, and, although
the rapid repetition of Do will make both the
tongue and the jaw move easily and with
agility, the singer must not obstruct the free
movement of the two organs by failing to re-
lax them. In this matter, as in all that con-
cerns bel canto, rigidity in any form whatso-
ever will prevent his attaining the object he
has in view — ^beautiful singing.

EXERCISE XXV

EXERCISE XXVI

EXAMPLES OF PORTAMENTO

Jw£>/-K-.jM.' /am. ft_l nA - .»-i-

194 Caruso and the Art of Singing

Portamento is the carrying of the voice
very smoothly from one tone to another. It
is a highly effective and expressive embellish-
ment in the art of singing when it is used cor-
rectly and with good taste. On the other
hand, let the portamento be used poorly and
indiscriminately, and it becomes atrocious to
the musical ear. In gliding from one tone
to the other the singer must beware not to
stop at any of the intervening tones ; the glide
must be smooth and uninterrupted. Nor
should the singer employ the portamento too
frequently, for it may affect the evenness and
clean delivery of his legato singing. Caruso
used the portamento with exquisite taste; it
infused life and expressiveness into his phras-
ing. By means of it he often brought out the
very character of the music he was singing.
Sung with Caruso's mastery, this embellish-
ment becomes one of the most stirring we have
in music.

EXERCISE XXVII

rnrirrv/ ^^ r re t[[

Foundation of Focal Technique 195

Messa di voce (the art of swelling out and
diminishing the volume of a sustained tone in
one breath) is an ornament of song that was
held in high esteem by the great masters of
the past; and it is quite worthy of that esteem,
for it adds color and eloquence to sustained
singing. But if it confers great beauty upon
singing, its technique can be mastered only
after long practice and diligent work. The
singer must attain a notable perfection in the
production of simple, sustained tones before
he attempts to sing messa di voce; for this
device, in order to be effective, requires a
highly flexible voice.

There are no secrets for the acquirement
of a beautiful messa di voce; it is fundamen-
tally a matter of perfect breath control. (The
singer must ever return to his motive power
— ^the breath.) Caruso's messa di voce was
marvelous in its effects — as in the last phrase
of the flower song in "Carmen," Carmen, je
faime — ^because he had complete command of
his airblast.

Nowadays comparatively few singers are
able to deliver a beautiful messa di voce, for
the mere reason that they have not acquired

196 Caruso and the Art of Singing

the principles of tone mastery. It is pitiful
to watch a singer with a flushed face, a strained
neck, and a rigid jaw attempting to sing
messa di voce. He imagines that he has only
to exert pressure on his vocal organs, and an
increase in tone will follow. He is soon disillu-
sioned; his tone not only fails to increase, but
is so stifled by the tightened muscles that it
actually decreases in volume. There can be
no beautiful messa di voce unless the vocal
organs are relaxed — the throat and the mouth
should remain as in a state of repose — and the
tone is emitted without strain or effort.

EXERCISE XXVIII

@S@D^

EXERCISE XXIX

■ flutii . jO^ u ai p'.

These two exercises, which may be sung in
all the keys, the singer will find useful as an
aid toward making the voice both agile and
flexible. Caruso employed them at various

Foundation of Vocal Technique 197

times as preparation for legato, and for legato
and staccato, singing. Sometimes also he used
them to warm up the voice.

The foregoing collection of exercises throws
considerable light on Caruso's comprehensive
conception of the technique of the singer's art.
He believed in a thorough foundation of vocal
technique and was in complete agreement with
the views of the great masters of the past.
He never entertained the notion that a singer
who is the fortunate possessor of an unusual
vocal organ can be prepared in six months —
or at the utmost in a year — for a life career
in opera or on the concert-stage. The insuf-
ficiently prepared singers, who have not com-
pletely mastered their instruments, let them
have never so good voices, enjoy but a brief
run of success and disappear as suddenly as
they have appeared. They have never really
learned how to use their vocal organs, and
in their attempts to be emotional and dramatic
they bring down upon themselves the inev-
itable consequence — ^the ruin of their voices.
"No vocal artist ever infused more dramatic
emotion into song than Caruso; but Caruso's

198 Caruso and the Art of Singing

tones, no matter how impassioned or dramatic,
were so subject to his vocal mastery that they
were never forced or strained and therefore
remained mellow and pure. Had not his glo-
rious voice been silenced by a premature
death, there is no doubt but that Enrico Ca-
ruso would have continued for years to come
to pour out his magical music.

In yet another province of the singer's art
Caruso was a great master — diction. His
purity of diction was in the main the result
of the purity with which he emitted his tones.
The art of the singer may be likened to an
extremely delicate mechanism which may be
manipulated effectively if all the component
parts are perfect; with one part imperfect,
however, the entire mechanism must fail to
give satisfactory results. Faulty diction on
the part of singers is usually caused by de-
fective tone production. When the vocal or-
gans are forced into rigid contortions, they
can by no means be expected to possess elo-
quence of utterance.

Caruso's vowels were open and pure, full
and resonant, because he pronounced them

Fowndation of Vocal Technique 199

with ease and freedom ; and this ease and free-
dom came from the remarkable suppleness
and flexibility of his vocal organs. He had
no mysterious secrets; while innumerable less
successful singers were seeking far and wide
for tricks that would enable them to utter the
vowels clearly and musically, Caruso remained
loyal to the principles of the great masters of
bel canto. Here again, as in the other do-
mains of vocal technique, it was patient study,
directed by an alert musical intelhgence and
an artistic sensitiveness, that finally led Ca-
ruso not only to the perfect equalization of
the vowels but to the mastery of all the gra-
dations of tonal coloring inherent in them.

Caruso did not set down any hard and fast
rules for the correct pronunciation of the
vowels, except perhaps those principles to
which the vocalist must give heed in order to
secure good tone production. The exercises
which we have here reproduced for the flexi-
bility of the jaw will aid the singer in pro-
nouncing the vowels with more roundness and
eloquence, since the rigidity of the jaw is in
great measure responsible for the havoc that
is made of their natural beauty. The jaw

200 Caruso and the Art of Singing

should remain relaxed so that it will droop
loosely; in this position, as in the case of the
emission of tones, the jaw will not obstruct
the blending or the pure utterance of the
vowels.

Nor is there any radical difference in the
imderlying principle for the clear and distinct
envmciation of the consonants; the less effort
the singer exerts, the better will be his artic-
ulation. In fact, all the evils of the singer
are wrought upon him by the employment of
unnecessary effort. Caruso's faultless artic-
ulation was due to the flexibility of his lips
and tongue, and to the fact that he endeav-
ored never to overemphasize the enunciation
of the consonants. An excellent exercise for
the flexibility of the tongue and lips (and also
for the distinct enunciation of the r) is: Tra,
tre, tri, tro, tru; and Bra, bre, bri, bro, bru
(Italian pronounciation) .

The singer should remember that the tight-
ening of the articulating organs by undue
stress will always tend to distort the clarity
and distinctness of his diction. "The articu-
latioii of the consonants," said Caruso, "must
be effected in the simplest and most natural

Fovmdation of Vocal Technique 201

way, namely, in accordance with the natural
movements of the motive organs that are
called upon to produce them." This goes to
the very bottom of the question. It is the
intervention and the obstruction of the un-
necessary muscles or organs that destroy the
purity of diction as they destroy the purity
of tone production.

Caruso always aimed high; it was his am-
bition to become a master in every domain of
vocal technique. All the numerous problems
with which the vocalist is confronted are in-
tricately interwoven; indeed, the mastery of
one depends on the mastery of another. Ca-
ruso reached the highest pinnacles of vocal art
because, unlike most singers, he endeavored
to become a master in all its provinces.

style and Repertory

Chapter X
STYLE AND REPERTORY

What distinguishes art from mechanism is
that the one is permeated with individuality
whereas the other is the vehicle for impersonal
force. Both a work of art and a given me-
chanical construction may possess perfection
in execution; yet the mechanical fabric will
leave us cold while the work of art rouses our
emotions — moves us. It is further true that
the more a work of art is dominated by a
strong personality, the greater will be its
effect on us. This is just as true of the in-
terpreting artist as of the poet or of the com-
poser. Singing that is not pervaded with per-
sonality lacks warmth and magnetism; it fails
to stir us. The personal manner, the personal
intensity, which the singer reveals in his art
conditions his style.

In the vocal art this term style is frequently
employed most indefinitely. It is by no means
unusual to see the expression style applied to
the singer's method of singing, as if all styles

205

206 Caruso and the Art of Singing

should not be rendered through the same
vehicle — ^the method which yields the best
artistic results. Obviously the singer must
aim to interpret whatever he sings — ^whether
it be the works of seventeenth and eighteenth
century composers or the compositions of
present-day musicians — ^with the same skill
and expertness, lest he be adjudged incompe-
tent. The breath control and the tone pro-
duction must needs be managed with the same
mastery when one is singing a recent compo-
sition as when he is performing an old mas-
terpiece. Otherwise, from the point of view
of technique, the rendering will be imperfect,
and an imperfect technique means, at the very
best, an immature art. So it is not with the
method of singing that style is concerned.
'Not can it with justice be applied to any ex-
ternal mannerisms of a singer. An affecta-
tion, though paraded with pomp, deceives no
one; if the insincerity does not revolt us, it at
all events leaves us cold.

No, style is that vital quality of sincerity
which comes from the inmost recesses of the
artist's nature. That is what the great
Frenchman meant in his brilliant and pro-

A Bas-Rettef of Carvso as Rt.iSazer in "La Juive"
Modelled dy Himself

Style and Repertory 207

found saying: "The style is the man."
(Buff on hit upon a great truth to which we
must ever return.) Whatever characteristics
the singer's style may disclose, his singing
will be convincing only as it emanates from
his real personality. The greatness of his
style will be in direct ratio to the greatness
of his personahty: the one cannot be sepa-
rated from the other. What made Enrico
Caruso a great master of style was the vitali-
zation of whatever he sang by a great person-
ahty. He expressed his musical conceptions
and emotions in all their intensity and color,
exactly as he conceived and felt them. It was
this fidelity to his emotions and to his creative
imagination that made his art sincere and be-
stowed distinction and the sense of inevitable-
ness on all his interpretations.

When Caruso was asked for some light on
the formation and the development of style,
he repeated Talma's illuminating remark:
"The artist must possess a cold head and a
warm heart." In other words, the style of a
singer is created by his mental grasp of the
significance of his emotions. It cannot be ac-
quired in any external manner; it must emerge

208 Caruso and the Art of Singing

from the innermost depths of the singer's be-
ing. Otherwise it will remain insignificant
and unconvincing. That is why every attempt
to imitate another's style is ineffective, no
matter how well the imitation may be carried
out. Imitation is the very antithesis of style,
and the musical ear can easily detect the one
from the other. The imitation never fails to
ring false, for it lacks the vital spark with
which a genuine style vitalizes a work of art
to make it quiver with life. But what the
singer must chiefly bear in mind anent the
question of style is that music, more perhaps
than any other art, rests on contrasts and not
on similarities. Accordingly, the style of a
singer is the more distinctive and compelling
as it reveals with greater emphasis the singer's
unique individuality.

So much for the larger aspects of the sing-
er's style, as a manifestation of his intellectual
and emotional constitution. But just as the
style of a composer varies in melody, in har-
mony, and in rhythm according to the mood
he wishes to express — whether it be joy,
sorrow, passion, religious fervor, or banter —

style and Repertory 209

so the singer must needs vary his style in
order to attune it to the character of the music
he is to sing, Monteverde, Pergolesi, and
Carissimi cannot be sung in the same style as
Verdi, Puccini, and Leoncavallo; nor can the
latter be interpreted in the same manner as
Bizet, Wagner, or Debussy. To be worthy
of the name of artist, the singer must so mold
his style as to make it appropriate to the com-
poser whom he is interpreting, and, further-
more, he must adopt his style so that it will
reveal the character of the particular work
he is rendering. His singing must be faithful
to his mood, but his mood must reflect the
mood of the composer and of the composition.
Caruso was a great interpreter, at his great-
est when he was living out upon the stage the
life of the character he was representing. And
although all that he did bore unmistakably the
impress of his own inimitable personality, he
could so fashion, shape, and model his own
style that each of his diverse interpretations
was instinct with individuality. One need
only compare his singing of ha donna e
mobile or the Raconto di Rodolfo with his
singing of Stradella's Pieta^ Signore or of

210 Caruso and the Art of Singing

Halevy's Rachel: qtumd du Seigneur la grace
tutelaire — to mention only a few of the many-
superb phonographic records of Caruso's great
art — in order to be convinced not only of the
larger attributes of Caruso's style, which made
his art unique, but of its unusual variety in
expression, its flexible representation of his
moods as they responded to the significance
of the music he was singing. There is grace,
lightness, and abandon in his rendering of La
dorma e mobile, and a delicacy of phrasing
which enhances its musical value; the senti-
ment and pathos in the Baconto di Bodolfo
exhibit a very different aspect of his person-
ality, and the ardor and impassioned eloquence
with which he intones Stradella's fervid plea
and Halevy's dramatic air demonstrate the
wide versatility of his style.

Caruso occupied himself little with consid-
erations of style from an historical point of
view. He was always amused when he heard
people speak of a seventeenth century or an
eighteenth century manner of singing. On
such occasions he would laughingly say:
"Didn't artists sing with their vocal organs
in those good old days?" Yet it must not be

Style and Repertory 211

thought that he dismissed the whole question
quite so superficially as the remark would in-
dicate. Caruso could never resist an oppor-
timity for his wit.

The truth is that he was too great an artist
to be hampered by the trajnmels of crystal-
lized views regarding the interpretation of any
musical work, old or modern. "The singer,"
he would say, "must of course respect the
sentiments of the composer. But, after all,
the composer is heard through the tempera-
ment of the singer, and the singer can only
give expression to the ideas and emotions that
the musical work arouses in him. Should he
endeavor to do otherwise, then the interpre-
tation will lack style and conviction."

Caruso may have taken certain liberties
which his extraordinary vocal organism and
his powerful pair of bellows permitted, but
he was always prompted to these liberties by
his desire for finer artistic effects. It was
never caprice, for his utmost endeavor went
into the effort to vitalize all that he sang with
the breath of life, and this gave conviction
to all his singing, whether or not he followed

212 Caruso and the Art of Singing

servilely the so-called traditional interpreta-
tions.

Nothing is so deadly to the art of song as
monotony, and monotony is bound to make its
appearance in the singer's attempt to efface
the emotions which inwardly guide his utter-
ance. What interest, except the historical,
can attach to a traditional rendering that is
devoid of the personal magnetism of the
singer? If he is an artist at all, it is his soul
that gives new vitality and life to the musical
work he is interpreting, discovering beauties
that may have escaped the composer himself.
Besides, entirely too much is being said lately
of the composer's intentions, which usually
prove to vary with the taste of the speaker
who propounds them. Whatever the inten-
tions of a composer may have been, his work
must not be made insipid and lifeless, devoid
of nuance, rhythm, and plan. This should be
the prevailing principle in the style of the
vocal artist; and it was this ideal that Caruso
accepted as his own.

The repertory and the style of Enrico Ca-
ruso were closely related: his repertory fash-
ioned and developed his style, and his style

Style and Repertory 213

widened the scope of his repertory. But both
his style and his repertory can be traced to one
source — ^the evolution of his vocal powers. It
was this harmony in the different domains of
his artistic achievement as a singer that be-
stowed upon Caruso not only his preemi-
nence but also his uncommon endurance.

Throughout his brilliant career Caruso
never attempted to sing a role, an aria, or a
song that, in his judgment, was beyond his
vocal capacity or that was unsuited to his vo-
cal organism. And this in spite of the fact
that his was a voice of unusual range and
power. Nor did his great dramatic talent af-
fect his decision in the matter of choosing a
role. He foresaw the inevitable consequences
of indulging in parts that lie, vocally speak-
ing, beyond the singer's abihty — ^the untimely
Inin of the voice. It was his firm conviction,
founded on his thorough understanding of the
mechanism of the voice, that the vocal artist
can express his ideas and sentiments ade-
quately in song only when he can sing with
ease, without laboring over technical difficul-
ties.

For Caruso, his song and his dramatic art

214 Caruso and the Art of Singing

were not merely closely interwoven: they were
forged into one entity. Every one of his
vocal phrases was developed out of the char-
acter represented, out of the situations in
which that character participated. And to
every character Caruso gave a soul, because
Caruso had completely assimilated his nature.
As Canio he was a peasant, a rustic, among
other peasants; as Cavaradossi he was a child
with the soul of a hero; as Eleazer he was a
religious visionary inspired by the God of his
people. And in every characterization Caruso
made his voice play its legitimate part in that
perfected imity of portrayal which he had,
first of all, established as his ideal.

It is true that he was aided by the fact that
his voice was of as captivating softness and
rounded fullness in lyric passages (a male
voice even in phrases of most dehcate pianis-
simo) as it was full of glow and passion in
dramatic moments, when it made his auditors
vibrate with emotion. But this rare vocal flex-
ibility was the master's own achievement, too.
For his method, based as it was on principles
whose application should be universal — ^his
manner of work, the scale and exercise material

Style cmd Repertory 215

he used, his manner of breathing, the eflPort-
less ease with which he produced his tones, and
the remarkable coordination of all the forma-
tive elements which made him the great vocal
artist — was, when all has been said, one of the
products of his genius. The sum of the mat-
ter is that Enrico Caruso's vocal mastery-
brought lustre and conviction to the imper-
sonations of his wide repertory in about the
same degree that his dramatic endowment in-
fused the breath of life not only into his many-
operatic roles but also into the lyric utterance
of his numerous songs by old and modern mas-
ters.

The sharp individual coloring, both dra-
matic and vocal, with which Caruso portrayed
all of his impersonations attested both the as-
tonishing breadth of his observation of life
and the marvelously versatile skill of his pres-
entation. That his characterizations were as
varied as the numerous roles of his repertory
— for no two of them were alike — was due not
only to his mastery of singing and his com-
mand of declamation, but also to his study
of make-up. It is a province of the opera
singer's art to which little attention is ordi-

216 Caruso and the Art of Singing

narily given. Indeed, the make-up of most
men and women on the operatic stage is so
banal, so devoid of character, that it is justly;
ridiculed by all who seek something more than
beautiful singing at the opera house. What
would a theater audience think of an actor
whose make-up gave him rather the appear-
ance of a puppet than that of the character
he was endeavoring to present? And yet few
opera singers, who are also supposed to look
and act their parts, devote much care to their
make-up.

Caruso was as careful about creating the
appropriate make-up for the character he was
impersonating as he was about studying the
appropriate gestures, declamation, and musi-
cal expression. He pondered the mental, emo-
tional, and moral traits of the character as they
were revealed not only in his own lines and
music but throughout the entire opera. If he
foimd that insufficient, he searched elsewhere
— ^in art, in literature, in history. When he
was preparing the role of Samson, he went
to the Bible for additional enlightenment on
that legendary hero in order that he might
visualize him the more vividly; and, as we have

Style and Repertory 217

already remarked, when he was studying
Eleazer, he sought advice on Jewish customs
from a prominent Yiddish actor of New York.
Once Caruso had formed a vivid mental pic-
ture of the character he was to enact, the prob-
lem of the make-up solved itself.

In the truest sense of the word Caruso was
a creator of character. In his effort to make
all his impersonations, down to the minutest
detail, distinctive for their individuality, he
was in some measure helped by his physique.
Caruso was of mediimi size; and, though the
lines of his face were firmly chiseled, neither
his head nor his features were really very in-
dividual in their physiognomy. It was this
fact which enabled him to throw so great a
measure of physical conviction into his many
impersonations. His face was a mobile mask
which naturally adjusted its lines to the char-
acter he was interpreting and reflected its
characteristics and peculiarities in the most
colorful manner.

If in his portrayal of folk-types, roles such
as Canio and Nemerino, he was superb as a
child of nature, at the same time roles stamped
jvith the aristocratic hallmark (Edgardo or

218 Caruso and the Art of Singing

the Duke), heroic roles (Rhadames or Sam-
son), or romantic roles (Rodolfo or Julien)
were no less within the scope of his dramatic
talent. In all that he ever did on the stage
there lived the feeling for the actual, the real.
His rendering of character as well as of song
was impermeate with nature, with power and
truth. This is sufficiently established by the
fact that Caruso's sweeping, compelling ef-
fect in human character-delineation is present
no less strongly in our recollection than is the
enchanting beauty of his song.

Anyone who heard him in the scene of jeal-
ousy in the third act of "Carmen," or at the
close of the third act of "Aida," or when he
concluded the "Ridi Pagliacci . . .," could
scarcely forget those moments, in which a
primal outcry seemed to spring from the hu-
man soul at a white heat. It was a natural
cry, one that came from the soul; and yet it
was not the cry of nature. Though offered
with the stilicized gestures of realism, it was
in truth art in its highest manifestations, an
art deeply and subtly controlled, with the
control never in any way in evidence. No, it
was not Caruso's voice alone which made him

Style and Repertory 219

unique among his colleagues; he was equally
preeminent as an actor and as a creator of
character. That is what distinguished his mag-
nificent repertory as it did his masterly style.

And now a concluding word on Caruso's
gift to the world. His was a hfe of manifold
interests and talents, and in whatever walk of
life he chose to exhibit his versatile genius he
achieved marked success. The gift that Ca-
ruso displayed in caricature was in itself suf-
ficient to make him famous; and had he de-
voted more time to modeling, he undoubtedly
would have attained a distinguished position
in the world of sculpture. But he had chosen
to devote his life to the art of song, and it is
as a great singer that he will be remembered
by future generations.

In selecting the art of song for his career
he must have been guided by the gods; for,
of his manifold talents, it was his supreme
genius as a singer that revealed and combined
all his greatest qualities. And it is chiefly
vocalists and teachers of the vocal art who
will not only be inspired by his ideals but will
actually benefit from his principles and his
great example.